BV  4501  .U6  1843b 
Upham,  Thomas  Cogswell, 

1799-1872. 
Principles  of  the  interior 


U  -  J  J 


PRINCIPLES    X^"^*"' 


INTERIOR  OR  HIDDEN  LIFE, 


DESIGNED  PARTICULARLY  FOR  THE  CONSIDERATION  OF  THOSE 

WHO  ARE  SEEKING  ASSURANCE  OF  FAITH 

AND  PERFECT  LOVE, 


BY   THOMAS   C.   UPHAM. 


BOSTON: 
D.  S.   KING,  NO.  1,  CORNHILL. 

1843. 


Entered  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1843,  in  the 
District  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  Maine. 


PRESS    OF    J.    GRIFFIN,    BKUNSWICK. 


It  is  the  object  of  the  present  Work  to  aid  in  promoting  Holy 
Living.  It  will  be  noticed,  that  the  principles  of  the  "Work  take 
for  granted,  and  every  where  imply,  that  man  ought  to  be,  and 
may  be  holy.  Holiness  is  the  one  great  thing,  for  which,  above 
all  others,  man  should  live.  It  has  been  my  desire  in  the  follow- 
ing pages,  some  of  which  have  already  appeared  in  a  periodical 
publication,  to  promote  this  great  result. 

There  are  reasons  of  a  personal  nature,  why  I  should  not  have 
written.  There  are  other  reasons,  which  none  can  appreciate  but 
myself,  which  seemed  to  me  imperatively  to  require  it.  If  what 
is  said  is  true,  nothing  but  good  can  ultimately  flow  from  it.  If  it 
be  otherwise,  it  is  my  earnest  supplication  that  He,  who  can  bring 
good  out  of  evil,  will  overrule  the  mistakes  of  human  infirmity  to 
the  glory  of  his  own  name.  U. 


CONTENTS. 

^^^^-  PAGE. 

1.  Some  marks  or  traits  of  the  hidden  life    -        -         -  13 

2.  On  the  doctrine  of  holiness     -----  21 

3.  Directions  to  aid  in  the  attainment  of  holiness          -  32 

4.  On  the  relation  of  natural  and  religious  faith            -  43 

5.  Appropriating  faith       ------  55 

6.  Of  disinterested  or  pure  love  in  distinction  from  inter- 

ested love     -------  fi4 

7.  On  the  love  of  our  neighbor  and  of  ourselves            -  77 

8.  On  the  distinction  between  love  and  joy           -         -  84 

9.  On  the  distinction  between  natural  and  spiritual  joy  91 

10.  Some  marks  or  characteristics  of  perfection  of  love  -  99 

11.  On  the  act  or  covenant  of  religious  consecration       -  107 

12.  Of  assurance  of  faith    ------  Urt 

13.  Relation  of  consecration  to  assurance  of  faith           -  140 

14.  Relation  of  assurance  of  faith  and  perfect  love          -  148 

15.  Considerations  on  the  life  of  faith  -         -        -        -  157 
1(3.     Of  a  life  of  special  signs  and  manifestations,  as  com- 
pared with  a  life  of  faith         _         -         .         .  168 

17.  On  the  entire  subjection  of  the  will          •         -         -  186 

18.  On  the   joy  of  faith  in  the  want  and  desolation  of  all 

things  else     -------  197 

19.  On  the  nature  of  the  temptations  of  a  sanctified  heart  201 

20.  "  Believe  that  ye  receive,  and  ye  shall  have"  -         -  213 

21.  On  the  dispensation  of  the  Holy  Ghost     -         -         -  222 

22.  The  providences  of  God  considered  as  interpreters  of 

the  inward  operations  of  the  Holy  Spirit  -        -  232 

23.  Suggestions  to  aid  in  securing  the  guidance  of  the  Ho- 

ly Spirit        -------  240 

24.  Evidences  of  being  guided  by  the  Holy  Spirit           -  247 

25.  On  the  voice  of  God  in  the  interior  solitude  of  the  soul  267 

26.  Of  the  excision  and  crucifixion  of  the  natural  life     -  269 

27.  Of  the  new  life  in  the  image  of  Christ    -         -         -  289 

28.  On  the  true  idea  of  spiritual  liberty         -         -        -  311 

29.  On  the  state  of  inward  recollection           -         -         -  322 

30.  On  growth  in  holiness  ------  334 

31.  On  the  confession  of  sin        -         -        -        -         -  343 

32.  Remarks  on  interior  trials  and  desolations        -         -  350 

33.  On  the  necessity  of  possessing  the  gifts  and  graces  of 

God  in  purity  of  spirit     -----  359 

34.  On  the  principle  of  inward  quietude  or  stillness        -  365 

35.  Additional  remarks  on  the  state  of  interior  stillness  374 

36.  On  spiritual  cooperation  with  God            -         -         -  379 

37.  Distinction  between  impulses  and  a  sanctified  judg- 

ment   -        -        -        -        -        --        -  388 

38.  On  the  grace  of  silence  as  a  means  of  sustaining  a  holy 

life°      -------         -  400 

39.  On  the  true  idea  of  interior  annihilation  or  nothingness  408 

40.  On  the  state  of  union  with  God       -         -         -         -  418 

41.  On  varieties  of  christian  character          _         -         -  4-9 

42.  Religious  maxims         ------  4J5 


PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  INTERIOR  OR 
HIDDEN  LIFE. 


CHAPTER  FIRST. 

Some  Marks  or  Traits  of  the  Hidden  Life. 

There  is  a  modification  or  form  of  religious  ex- 
perience which  may  conveniently,  and  probably 
with  a  considerable  degree  of  propriety,  be  denom- 
inated the  Interior  or  Hidden  Life.  When  a  person 
first  becomes  distinctly  conscious  of  his  sinfulness, 
and  in  connection  with  this  experience,  exercises 
faith  in  Christ  as  a  Savior  from  sin,  there  is  no  doubt, 
however  feeble  these  early  exercises  may  be,  that 
he  has  truly  entered  upon  a  new  life.  But  Ihis  new 
life,  although  it  is  in  its  element  different  from  that 
of  the  world,  is  only  in  its  beginning.  It  embraces, 
undoubtedly,  the  true  principle  of  a  restored  and 
renovated  existence,  which  in  due  time  will  ex- 
pand itself  into  heights  and  depths  of  knowledge 
and  of  feeling ;  but  it  is  now  only  in  a  state  of  incip- 
iency ,  maintaining,  and  often  times  but  feebly  main- 
taining a  war  with  the  anterior  or  natural  life,  and 
being  nothing  more  at  present  than  the  early  rays 
and  dawnings  of  the  brighter  day  that  is  coming. 
2 


14  SOME    MARKS   OR     TRAITS 

It  is  not  so  with  what  may  he  conveniently  denom- 
inated the  Hidden  Life;  a  form  of  expression  which 
we  employ  to  indicate  a  degree  of  Christian  experi- 
ence, greatly  in  advance  of  that,  which  so  often  lin- 
gers darkly  and  doubtfully  at  the  threshold  of  the 
Christian's  career.  As  the  Hidden  Life,  as  we  now 
employ  the  expressions,  indicates  a  greatly  advan- 
ced state  of  religious  feeling,  resulting  in  a  sacred 
and  intimate  union  with  the  Infinite  Mind,  we  may 
perhaps  regard  the  Psalmist,  who  had  a  large  share 
of  this  interior  experience,  as  making  an  indistinct 
allusion  to  it  when  he  says  "Thou  art;ny  hiding 
place,  and  my  shield."  And  again  "He  that  dwell- 
eth  in  the  secret  place  of  the  Most  High,  shall  a- 
bide  under  the  shadow  of  the  Almighty."  Perhaps 
the  Apostle  Paul  makes  some  allusion  to  this  more 
advanced  and  matured  condition  of  the  religious  life, 
when  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians,  he  says 
"I  am  crucified  with  Christ ;  nevertheless  I  live;  yet 
NOT  I,  BUT  Christ  liveth  in  me."  And  again,  ad- 
dressing the  Colossians,  "Set  your  affections  on 
things  above,  not  on  things  on  the  earth  ;  for  ye  are 
dead,  and  your  life  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God." 
And  does  not  the  Savior  himself  sometimes  recog- 
nize the  existence  of  an  Interior  or  Hidden  Life, 
unknown  to  the  world,  and  unknown,  to  a  con- 
siderable extent,  even  to  many  that  are  denomina- 
ted Christians,  but  who  are  yet  in  the  beginning  of 
their  christian  career  ?  "  He  that  hath  an  ear  let 
him  hear  what  the  Spirit  saith  unto  the  Church- 
es.    To  him   that  overcometh  will  I   give  to  eat  of 


OF    THE    HIDDEN   LIFE.  15 

the  HIDDEN  MANNA,  aiid  I  will  give  him  a  white  stone, 
and  in  the  stone  a  new  name  written,  which  no  man 
knoweth,  save  he  that  receiveth  it." 

The  phrase  Hidden  Life,  which  is  appropriate- 
ly and  pecuUarly  the  hfe  of  all  those,  who,  advan- 
cing beyond  the  first  elements  of  Christianity,  may 
properly  be  said  to  be  sanctified  in  Christ  Jesus,  in- 
dicates a  vitality  or  living  principle,  which  differs 
in  various  particulars  from  every  other  form  of  life. 

In  the  first  place,  the  life  of  those,  who  dwell  in 
the  secret  place  of  the  Most  High,  may  be  called 
a  Hidden  Life,  because  the  animating  principle,  the 
vital  or  operative  element,  is  not  so  much  in  itself 
as  in  another.  It  is  a  life,  grafted  into  another  life. 
It  is  the  life  of  the  soul,  incorporated  into  the  life  of 
Christ ;  and  in  such  a  way,  that,  while  it  has  a  dis- 
tinct vitality,  it  has  so  very  much  in  the  sense,  in 
which  the  branch  of  a  tree  may  be  said  to  have  a 
distinct  vitality  from  the  root.  It  buds,  blossoms, 
and  bears  fruit  in  the  strong  basis  of  an  eternal 
stock.  "I  am  the  vine,"  says  the  Savior,  "ye  are 
the  branches.  He,  that  abideth  in  me,  and  I  in 
him,  the  same  bringeth  forth  much  fruit ;  for  with- 
out me  ye  can  do  nothing."  This  is  a  great  mystery, 
but  it  is  also  a  great  truth.  The  Christian,  whose 
"life  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God,"  can  never  doubt, 
that  his  spiritual  existence  and  growth  originate  in 
and  are  sustained  in  that  divine  source  alone. 

In  the  second  place,  the  life,  which  we  are  con- 
sidering, may  properly  be  called  a  Hidden  Life,  be- 
cause its  moving  principles,  its   interior  and  pow- 


16  SOME    MARKS    Oft     TRAITS 

erful  springs  of  action,  are  not  known  to  the  world. 
This  is  what  might  naturally  be  expected  from 
what  has  already  been  said  in  respect  to  the  relation 
existing  between  a  truly  devoted  Christian  and  his 
Savior ;  inasmuch  as  he  is  taken  from  himself  and 
is  grafted  into  another,  and  has  now  become  a 
"new  man  in  Christ  Jesus."  The  natural  man  can 
appreciate  the  natural  man.  The  man  of  the  world 
can  appreciate  the  man  of  the  world.  And  it 
must  be  admitted,  that  he  can  appreciate,  to  a  con- 
siderable extent,  numbers  of  persons,  who  profess 
to  be  Christians,  and  who  are  probably  to  be  re- 
garded as  such  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the  term, 
because  the  natural  life  still  remains  in  them  in 
part.  There  is  such  a  mixture  of  worldly  and  re- 
ligious motives  in  the  ordinary  forms  of  the  religious 
state,  such  an  impregnation  of  what  is  gracious 
with  what  is  natural,  that  the  men  of  the  world 
can  undoubtedly  form  an  approximated,  if  not  a 
positive  estimate  of  the  principles,  which  regulate 
the  conduct  of  its  possessors.  But  of  the  springs 
of  movement  in  the  purified  or  Hidden  Life,  except 
by  dark  and  uncertain  conjecture,  they  know  com- 
paratively nothing.  Little  can  the  men,  who  under 
the  teachings  of  nature  have  been  trained  up  to  the 
reception  and  love  of  the  doctrine,  which  inculcates 
'•an  eye  for  an  eye  and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth,"  appre- 
ciate the  evangelical  precept,  which  requires  us, 
when  we  are  assaulted,  "to  turn  the  other  cheek." 
Still  feebler  and  more  imperfect  is  the  idea,  which 
they  form  of  that  ennobling  Christian  philosophy, 


OF    THE    HIDDEN    LIFE.  17 

which  inculcates  the  love  of  holiness  for  holiness' 
sake.  They  are  entirely  at  a  loss,  and  on  any 
principles  with  which  they  are  at  present  acquain- 
ted, they  ever  must  be  at  a  loss,  in  their  estimate 
of  that  intimacy  andsacredness  of  friendship,  which 
exists  between  God  and  the  sanctified  mind.  Right- 
ly is  it  said  in  the  Scriptures,  "But  the  natural  man 
receiveth  not  the  things  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  for  they 
are  foolishness  unto  him  ;  neither  can  he  know 
them,  because  they  are  spiritually  discerned." 

Again,  the  Hidden  life  has  a  claim  to  the  de- 
scriptive epithet,  which  we  have  proposed  to  apply 
to  it,  because,  in  its  results  upon  individual  minds, 
it  is  directly  the  reverse  of  the  life  of  the  world. 
The  natural  life  seeks  notoriety.  Desirous  of  hu- 
man applause,  it  aims  to  clothe  itself  in  purple 
and  fine  linen.  It  covets  a  position  in  the  market 
place  and  at  the  corners  of  the  streets.  It  loves  to 
be  called  Rabbi.  But  the  life  of  God  in  the  soul, 
occupied  with  a  divine  companionship,  avoids  all 
unnecessary  familiarities  with  men.  It  pursues  a 
lowly  and  retired  course.  It  obeys  the  precept  of  the 
Saviour,  "When  thou  prayest,  enter  into  thy  clos- 
et, and  pray  to  thy  Father,  who  seeth  in  secret". 
It  neither  desires  to  see  nor  to  be  seen  openly,  ex- 
cept when  and  where  duty  calls  it.  It  is  willing 
to  be  little,  to  be  unhonored,  and  to  be  cast  out  from 
among  men.  It  has  no  eye  for  worldly  pomp  ;  no 
ear  for  worldly  applause.  It  is  formed  on  the  mod- 
el of  the  Saviour,  who  was  a  man  unknown.  He 
came  into  the  world,  the  highest  personage  on  the 


18  SOME    MARKS    OR   TRAITS 

highest  errand;  and  yet  so  humble  in  origin,  so 
simple  in  appearance,  so  gentle  in  heart  and  man- 
ners, that  the  Avorld  conld  not  comprehend  him ; 
and  he  was  ever  a  sealed  book,  except  to  those, 
who  had  the  key  of  the  inner  life  to  open  it  with. 

In  close  connection  with  what  has  been  said,  we 
may  remark  further,  that  the  hidden  life  of  religion 
is  not  identical  with  the  place  and  with  the  form- 
alities and  observances  of  religion ;  nor  is  it  neces- 
sarily dependent  upon  them.  If  it  were  so,  it 
would  no  longer  be  hidden:  but  would  be  as  much 
exposed  to  notice,  as  that  which  is  most  expansive 
and  attractive  in  the  outward  temple  and  in  the 
external  formality.  It  is  true  that  places  of  wor- 
ship and  the  various  outward  formalities  of  worship 
may  be  its  handmaids,  and  oftentimes  very  im- 
portant ones;  but  they  are  not  its  essence.  It  has 
no  essence,  but  its  own  spiritual  nature,  and  no  true 
locality  but  the  soul,  which  it  sanctifies.  It  may  be 
found,  therefore,  among  all  classes  of  men  and  con- 
sequently in  all  places,  occupying  equally  the  pur- 
ple of  the  king  and  the  rags  of  a  beggar ;  prostrating 
itself  at  the  altar  of  the  cathedral,  or  offering  its  pray- 
er in  the  humble  conventicle  in  the  wilderness  :  like 
the  wind  that  bloweth  where  it  listeth,  and  "ye  know 
not  whence  it  cometh  nor  whither  it  goeth."  And, 
therefore,  being  what  the  Savior  has  denominated 
it,  "the  kingdom  of  god  within  you,"  and  essential- 
ly independent  of  outward  circumstances,  it  pos- 
sesses a  perpetual  vitality.  It  cannot  die,  for  the 
vivifying  breath  of  God  is  in  it.     And  hence  it  is, 


OF    THE    HIDDEN    LIFE.  19 

that  ill  the  most  disastrous  periods  of  the  church, 
there  have  always  been  some,  (a  seven  thousand 
perhaps,)  who  have  not  bowed  the  knee  to  Baal. 
Ministers  may  have  become  corrupt;  churches 
may  have  been  infected  Avith  unholy  leaven ;  the 
rich  and  the  learned  may  have  been  unanimous  in 
their  rejection  of  every  thing  except  the  mere  super- 
ficialities of  religion;  and  yet  it  will  be  found  that 
God,  who  values  the  blood  of  his  beloved  Son  too 
highly  to  let  it  remain  inoperative,  has  raised  his 
altar  in  individual  hearts.  In  the  dwellings  of  the 
poor,  in  solitary  places,  in  the  recesses  of  vallies 
and  mountains,  he  has  written  his  name  upon  re- 
generated minds ;  and  the  incense  of  their  adora- 
tion, remote  from  public  notice,  has  gone  silently 
up  to  heaven. 

These  are  general  views  and  remarks,  which 
will  perhaps  be  better  understood  in  the  result. 
We  do  not  think  it  necessary  to  dwell  upon  them 
longer  at  present.  In  conclusion,  we  would  say, 
however,  that  the  true  Ilidden  Life  has  its  princi- 
ples; principles  of  origin  and  principles  of  perpetui- 
ty. The  popular  Christianity,  that  which  exists 
in  great  numbers  of  the  professed  followers  of 
Christ,  has  sometimes  seemed  to  those,  who  have 
looked  into  its  nature,  to  be  a  sort  of  chaos,  entire- 
ly irregular  and  confused,  '-'without  form  and 
void."  The  measurement,  and  almost  the  only 
measurement  of  its  vitality,  is  excitation,  temporary 
emotion.  It  is  driven  downward  and  upward, 
backward,  forward,  and  transversely,  by  the  blind 


20  THE    HIDDEN   LIFE. 

impulse  of  emotive  power.  So  that  if  we  seek  it 
here,  supposing  it  has  a  fixed  principle  of  move- 
ment which  will  help  to  designate  where  it  is,  it  is 
gone  somewhere  else ;  and  if  we  seek  it  somewhere 
else,  it  has  already  altered  its  position.  The  true 
Hidden  Life,  refusing  to  be  characterised  by  the  fa- 
tal mark  of  inconstancy,  has  cast  anchor  in  God ; 
and  its  principles  are  the  strong  cable,  which  holds 
it  there.  This  is  one  thing,  which,  if  we  estimate 
the  subject  correctly,  the  church  of  God  are  called 
upon  to  learn  more  fully,  viz.  that  the  true  life  of 
God  in  the  soul  has  its  principles ;  principles  found- 
ed in  wisdom ;  principles  fixed  and  inflexible. 
/  God  never  made  a  stone,  an  herb,  a  blade  of  grass, 
or  any  natural  thing  however  insignificant ;  nor 
does  he  sustain  it  for  a  moment,  without  a  princi- 
ple of  action.  It  is  impossible  for  God  to  operate 
accidentally.  Whatever  he  does.  He  does  by  prin- 
ciple. And  if  this  is  true  in  natural  things,  it  is 
equally  so  in  spiritual  things.  God  did  not  make ; 
and  does  not  sustain  the  soul  by  accident.  Nor 
does  He  raise  it  from  its  fallen  condition ;  rekindle 
within  it  a  renovated  life;  and  bear  it  onward  to 
present  and  eternal  victory  by  a  fortuitous  aid,  an 
accidental  fatality.  The  new  life  in  the  soul,  there- 
fore, has  its  laws  of  beginning  and  progress,  as  well 
as  every  other  form  of  life. 


CHAPTER   SECOND. 

On  the  Doctrine  of  Holiness. 

Having  in  the  preceding  chapter  given  some  gen- 
eral idea  of  the  Interior  or  Hidden  Life,  the  impor- 
tant inquiry  naturally  suggests  itself;  In  what  way 
shall  we  gain  admission  into  this  desirable  state  7 
The  Gospel  evidently  contemplates,  in  the  case  of 
every  individual,  a  progress  from  the  incipient  con- 
dition of  mere  forgiveness  and  acceptance,  immense- 
ly important  as  it  is,  to  the  higher  state  of  interior 
renovation  and  sanctification  throughout.  The  A- 
postle  appears  to  have  reference  to  this  onward 
progress  of  the  soul  in  the  expressions  he  employs 
in  the  commencement  of  the  sixth  chapter  of  the 
Epistle  to  the  Hebrews.  "Therefore,  leaving  the 
principles  of  the  doctrine  of  Christ,  let  us  go  on  un- 
to perfection  ;  not  laying  again  the  foundation  of 
repentance  from  dead  works  and  of  faith  towards 
God;  of  the  doctrine  of  baptism  and  of  laying  on 
of  hands,  and  of  resurrection  of  the  dead,  and  of 
eternal  judgment.  And  this  will  we  do,  if  God 
permit."  What  direction,  then,  shall  we  take  ? 
What  course  shall  we  pursue,  that  we  may  rise  a- 
"bove  the  merely  initiatory  principles  and  feelings  of 


22  ON   THE    DOCTRINE 

the  gospel  life,  and  enjoy  the  delightful  privilege  of 
walking  in  close  and  uninterrupted  communion 
with  God?  In  answer  to  this  general  inquiry  we 
remark,  that  the  first  and  indispensable  prerequisite 
is  HOLINESS  OF  HEART.  Itis  generally  supposed,  that 
God  may  exhibit  pity  and  pardon  to  those,  in  whom 
there  still  exist  some  relics  and  stains  of  inward 
corruption ;  in  other  words,  that  those,  may  be  for- 
given or  pardoned,  who  are  not  entirely  sanctified. 
But  those,  who  would  walk  acceptably  with  their 
Maker,  who  would  receive  from  him  his  secret  com- 
munications and  enjoy  the  hidden  embraces  of  his 
love,  must  see  to  it,  first  of  all,  that  they  are  pure  in 
heart ;  that  they  have  a  present,  as  well  as  a  pros- 
pective salvation ;  in  other  words,  that  they  are 
holy. 

We  are  aware,  that,  in  the  view  of  some,  this 
condition  of  realizing  the  full  life  of  God  in  the  soul 
is  an  impracticable  one.  They  regard  holiness  in 
this  life,  as  a  thing  unattainable;  or, what  seems  to 
me  to  he  practically  the  same  view,  as  a  thing  never 
attained.  The  persons,  to  whom  we  now  allude, 
seem  to  look  upon  holiness  as  a  sort  of  intangible  ab- 
straction, as  something  placed  high  and  remotely  in 
the  distance,  as  designed  to  be  realized  by  angels  and 
by  the  just  made  perfect  in  heaven,  but  situated  far 
beyond  mere  human  acquisition.  Hence  it  is,  that 
followed  and  scourged  by  an  inward  condemnation, 
they  remain  in  the  condition  of  servants,  and  do 
not  cheerfully  and  boldly  take  that  of  sons. 
They  wander   about,  oftentimes  led  captive  by 


OF  HOLINESS.  23 

Satan,  in  the  low  grounds  of  the  gospel  life,  a- 
mid  marshes  and  tangled  forests ;  and  do  not 
ascend  into  the  pleasant  hills  and  that  emblemati- 
cal land  of  Beulah,  where  are  spicy  breezes  and 
perpetual  sunshine . 

In  this  state  of  things,  it  will  be  readily  seen  that 
it  is  necessary  to  delay  a  short  time  here.  It  be- 
comes a  very  important  inquiry,  whether  holiness, 
in  any  strict  and  proper  sense  of  that  term,  is  some- 
thing attainable  in  the  present  life.  Among  other 
reasons  it  is  important  to  be  able  to  answer  prop- 
erly this  question,  because,  unless  we  believe  in 
the  attainableuess  of  hohness,  we  shall  not  be  likely, 
such  are  the  laws  of  the  human  mind,  to  attain  it. 
Perhaps  we  may  say,  that  without  this  belief  it  will 
be  impossible  to  attain  it.  And  without  holiness, 
without  a  heart  thoroughly  purified  from  the  stains 
of  voluntary  transgression,  we  may  be  assured  that 
we  shall  not  enter  into  the  secrets  of  the  Most  High; 
the  Hidden  Life  will  be  hidden  to  us :  and  there 
will  be  many  things  in  the  Christian's  privileges, 
more  precious  than  rubies,  which  will  never,  in  the 
present  state  of  being,  come  within  the  range  of  our 
experience. 

But  before  we  can  decide  whether  holiness  is  at- 
tainable, we  must  endeavor  to  form  some  definite 
conception  of  its  nature.  And  here  it  may  be 
proper  to  remark,  that  we  are  obliged  to  travel 
over  ground  which  has  already  been  repeatedly 
occupied  by  former  writers.  We  shall,  therefore, 
be  as  concise,  as  will  be  at  all  consistent  with  giv- 
ing any  thing  hke  a  correct  idea  of  the  subject. 


24  ON   THE   DOCTRINE 

First, — And  in  the  first  place,  we  proceed  to  re- 
mark, that  the  hoHness,  which  Christ  requires  in 
his  people,  and  which,  in  order  to  distinguish  it 
from  Adamic  perfection,  is  sometimes  designated  as 
evangelical  or  gospel  holiness,  does  not  necessarily 
imply  a  perfection  of  the  physical  system.  Adam, 
before  his  fall,  was  a  perfect  man  physically  as 
well  as  mentally.  His  senses  were  sound;  his 
limbs  symmetrical ;  his  muscular  powers  unin- 
jured ;  and  in  all  merely  corporeal  or  physical  re- 
spects, we  may  reasonably  suppose,  that  he  pos- 
sessed all  that  could  be  desired.  But  this  is  not 
our  present  condition.  Far  from  it.  In  conse- 
quence of  the  fall  of  Adam,  we  inherit  bodies  that 
are  subject  to  various  weaknesses  and  infirmities. 
Many  are  called,  in  the  Providence  of  God,  to  en- 
dure a  great  degree  of  suifering  through  the  whole 
course  of  their  days.  These  weaknesses  and  in- 
firmities, which  are  often  the  source  of  great  per- 
plexity and  suffering,  are  natural  to  us.  To  a  con- 
siderable extent  at  least,  we  cannot  prevent  their 
coming ;  nor,  when  they  have  come,  can  we,  by 
any  mere  voluntary  acts,  send  them  away.  We 
admit,  therefore,  if  gospel  holiness  necessarily  im- 
plies physical  perfection,  that  none  can  be  holy. 
But  this  is  not  the  case. 

Second. — We  remark,  in  the  second  place,  that 
evangelical  or  gospel  holiness  does  not  necessarily 
imply  a  perfection  of  the  intellect,  either  in  its  per- 
ceptive or  in  its  comparing  and  judging  powers. 
The  perfection  of  the  intellectual  action  depends  in 


OF  HOLINESS.  25 

part  on  the  perfection  of  physical  action ;  on  the 
perfection,  for  instance,  of  the  organs  of  sense,  the 
organs  of  the  sight,  hearing,  and  touch.  But  in  our 
present  fallen  condition,  it  is  well  known  that 
these  and  other  physical  instrumentalities,  which 
have  a  greater  or  less  connection  with  the  mental 
action,  are  greatly  disordered.  And  the  natural 
and  necessary  consequence  of  this  state  of  things 
will  be  a  degree  of  perplexity  and  obscurity  in 
such  mental  action.  And  such  is  the  connection 
of  the  powers  of  the  mind,  one  with  another,  that 
an  erroneous  action  in  one  part  of  the  mind  will 
be  likely  to  lay  the  foundation  for  a  degree  of  er- 
roneous action  in  some  other  part.  Hence  in  the 
present  life  a  perfect  knowledge  of  things,  either 
in  themselves  or  in  their  relations,  may  be  regard- 
ed in  the  light  of  a  physical  impossibility.  And 
such  perfect  knowledge,  in  which  there  is  not  the 
least  possible  mistake  or  error,  does  not  appear  to 
be  required  of  us  in  the  gospel,  as  a  necessary 
condition  of  holiness  and  of  acceptance  with  God. 

It  may  be  added  here,  that  in  this  respect  also 
our  condition  appears  to  differ  from  that  of  our 
first  parent.  Adam,  it  is  true,  did  not  possess 
omniscience,  but  within  the  range  of  his  perceptive 
powers  he  was  not  subject  to  error.  So  far  as  God 
permitted  him  to  know  at  all,  he  knew  correctly. 
So  that  relatively  to  the  sphere  of  his  ability  and 
action,  he  was  as  perfect  intellectually,  as  he  was 
corporeally  and  physically. 

THiRD.-In  the  third  place,  there  is  ground  for 
saymg,  that   the   holiness   which,    in   accordance 
3 


26  ON    THE    DOCTRINE 

with  the  principles  of  the  gospel,  is  required  to  be 
exercised  in  the  present  life,  differs  in  some  re- 
spects from  the  holiness  or  sanctification  of  a  fu- 
ture life.  It  is  important  to  add,  however,  that  it 
does  not  differ  in  its  nature ;  but  only  in  some  of  its 
accessories  or  incidents.  In  its  nature  holiness  ev- 
er will  be,  and  ever  must  be  the  same ;  but  it  may 
difTer  in  some  of  the  attendant  circumstances  or  in- 
cidents, under  which  it  exists.  One  of  the  particu- 
lars of  an  accessory  or  incidental  character,  in 
which  the  holiness  of  the  future  life  may  be  regard- 
ed as  differing  from  that  of  the  present,  is,  that  it 
is  not  liable,  by  any  possibility  whatever,  to  any 
interruption  or  suspension.  No  physical  infirmity, 
no  weariness  or  perplexity,  of  body  or  of  mind, 
nothing  will  ever,  even  for  a  moment,  either  vitiate 
or  weaken  the  purity  of  its  exercises.  The  spirit- 
ual body,  which  constitutes  the  residence  of  the 
soul  in  its  heavenly  state,  accelerates  and  perfects 
its  operations,  instead  of  retarding  and  perplexing 
them ;  so  that  its  purity  is  always  unstained,  its 
joy  always  full,  the  song  of  its  worship  always 
new.  Another  ground  of  difference  between  the 
sanctification  or  holiness  of  the  present  and  tliat  of 
the  future  life  is  to  be  found  in  the  circumstance, 
that  in  the  present  life  we  are  subject  to  perpetual 
and  heavy  temptations.  No  one,  however  advanced 
in  religious  experience,  is  wholly  exempt  from 
them.  On  the  contrary,  persons,  who  are  the 
most  holy,  often  endure  temptations  of  the  severest 
kind.  But  it  is  not  so  in  the  heavenly  world.  In 
that  happier   place    the  contest    ceases    forever. 


OF  HOLINESS.  27 

There  is  not  only  no  sin,  and  no  possibility  of  sin- 
ning ;  but  no  temptation  to  sin.  CWhile,  therefore, 
we  hold  to  the  possibility  of  a  freedom  from  actual 
voluntary  transgression  in  this  life,  it  ought  to  be 
understood  that  we  do  not  hold  to  a  freedom  from 
temptation.  So  that  we  may  speak  of  the  contin- 
uance of  the  spiritual  warfare  in  the  present  life, 
as  a  matter  of  necessity,  but  not  of  the  continu- 
ance of  sin  as  a  matter  of  necessity.  / 

We  may  also  admit,  in  addition  to  what  has 
been  remarked,  that  all  mere  physical  infirmities, 
which  originate  in  our  fallen  condition,  but  which 
necessarily  prevent  our  doing  for  God  what  we 
should  otherwise  do ;  and  also  all  unavoidable  er- 
rors and  imperfections  of  judgment,  which  in  their 
ultimate  causes  result  from  sin,  (we  have  reference 
here  to  Adam's  sin.)  require  an  atonement.  It  seems 
to  be  clear,  that  God  constituted  the  human  race 
on  the  principle  of  an  unity,  or  perhaps  moiG  pre- 
cisely, of  a  close  connection,  of  obligations  and  in- 
terests ;  linking  together  man  with  man,  as  with 
bands  of  iron,  in  the  various  civil,  social,  and  do- 
mestic relations.  And  in  consequence  of  the  exist- 
ence of  the  great  connective  laws  of  nature,  (laws 
which  our  own  judgments  and  consciences  alike 
approve,)  it  seems  to  be  the  case,  that  we  may 
sometimes  justly  suffer,  in  our  own  persons,  results 
which  are  of  a  punitive  kind,  although  in  their 
source  flowing  from  the  evil  conduct  of  others  rath- 
er than  our  oAvn.  And  hence  it  is  that  the  head 
of  a  family  ordinarily  does  not  sin,  without  affect- 
ing the  happiness  of  its  members.     Nor  does  any 


28  ON    THE    DOCTEINE 

member  of  the  family  ordinarily  sin  without  in- 
volving others  in  the  consequences  of  the  trans- 
gression. Nor  does  the  head  of  a  community,  or 
of  a  State,  or  of  any  other  associated  body,  com- 
mit errors  and  crimes  without  a  diffusion  of  the 
attendant  misery  through  the  subordinate  parts  of 
the  association.  In  other  words,  an  union  or  asso- 
ciation of  relations  and  interests,  whether  it  be  es- 
tablished by  ourselves  or  by  that  higher  Being  with 
whose  wisdom  we  ought  ever  to  be  satisfied,  neces- 
sarily induces  a  common  liability  to  error,  suffer- 
ing, and  punishment. 

/"And  in  accordance  with  this  view,  we  may  very 
pfoperly,  sincerely,  and  deeply  mourn  over  those 
various  infirmities  and  imperfections,  which  flow 
out  of  our  connection  with  an  erring  and  fallen 
parent,  although  they  are  very  different  in  their 
nature  from  deliberate  and  voluntary  transgres- 
sions ;  and  may  with  deep  humility  make  applica- 
tion to  the  blood  of  Christ,  as  alone  possessing  that 
atoning  efficacy,  which  can  wash  their  stains 
away.  /  In  other  words,  God  is  to  be  regarded  as 
righteous  in  exacting  from  us  whatever  we  could 
or  might  have  rendered  him  if  Adam  had  not  fal- 
len, and  if  the  race  had  remained  holy.  Neverthe- 
less he  has  mercifully  seen  fit  to  remit  or  forgive 
all  these  involuntary  sins,  more  commonly  and  per- 
haps more  justly  called  imperfections  or  trespasses, 
if  we  will  but  cordially  accept  of  the  atonement  in 
the  blood  of  Christ.  But  without  the  shedding  of 
blood  and  confession,  there  is  no  more  remission  in 
this  case  than  in  any  other.    It  is  probably  in  refer- 


OF    HOLINESS.  29 

ence  to  such  imperfections  or  trespasses,  rather  than 
to  sins  of  a  deUberate  and  vohmtary  nature,  that 
some  good  people  speak  of  the  moral  certainty  or 
necessity  we  are  under  of  sinning  all  the  time.  If 
such  is  all  their  meaning,  it  is  not  very  necessary 
to  dispute  with  them. 

What,  then,  after  these  various  remarks  and  ex- 
planations, is  the  nature  of  Christian  perfection,  or 
of  that  holiness,  which,  as  fallen  and  as  physically 
and  intellectually  imperfect  creatures,  we  are  im- 
peratively required  and  expected  to  exercise  ;  and 
to  exercise  not  merely  in  the  "article  of  death,"  but 
at  the  present  moment  and  during  every  succeed- 
ing moment  of  our  lives  7  It  is  on  a  question  of  this 
nature,  if  on  any  one  which  can  possibly  be  pro- 
posed to  the  human  understanding,  that  we  must 
go  to  the  Bible ;  and  must  humbly  receive,  irre- 
spective of  human  suggestions  and  human  opinions, 
the  answer  which  the  word  of  God  gives.  Happily 
for  us,  and  happily  for  the  world,  this  question  is 
answered  by  the  Savior  himself;  and  in  such  a 
way  as  to  leave  the  subject  clear  and  satisfactory 
to  humble  and  candid  minds.  When  the  Savior 
Avas  asked,  Which  is  the  great  commandment  in 
the  Law,  he  answered,  "Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord 
thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul, 
and  with  all  thy  mind.  This  is  the  first  and  great 
commandment.  And  the  second  is  like  unto  it, 
Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself  On  these 
two  commandments  hang  all  the  law  and  the  prophets  J' 
Matt.  xxii.  37-8-9.  And  it  is  in  accordance  with 
the  truth,  involved  in  this  remarkable  passage,  that 
8» 


30  ON    THE    DOCTRtNE 

the  apostle  asserts,  Rom.  xiii.  10,  ^^Love  is  the  ful- 
filling of  the  laio.^' 

He,  therefore,  who  loves  God  with  his  whole 
heart  and  his  neighbor  as  himself,  although  his  state 
may  in  some  incidental  respects  be  different  from 
that  of  Adam,  and  especially  from  that  of  the  an- 
gels in  heaven,  and  although  he  may  be  the  subject 
of  involuntary  imperfections  and  infirmities,  which, 
in  consequence  of  his  relation  to  Adam,  require 
confession  and  atonement,  is,  nevertheless,  in  the 
gospel  sense  of  the  terms,  a  holy  or  sanctified  per- 
son. He  has  that  love,  which  is  the  "fulfilling  of 
the  law."  He  bears  the  image  of  Christ.  It  is 
true,  he  may  not  have  that  physical  or  intellectual 
perfection  which  the  Savior  had ;  but  he  bears  his 
moral  image.  And  of  such  an  one  can  it  be  said 
in  the  delightful  words  of  the  Saviour,  John  xiv. 
23:  "If  a  man  love  me,  he  will  keep  my  words, 
and  my  Father  will  love  him,  and  we  will  come 
unto  him,  and  make  our  abode  with  him." 

Holiness,  as  the  term  has  now  been  explained, 
in  other  words,  pure  and  perfect  love,  is  required  of 
all  persons.  We  do  not  esteem  it  necessary  to  de- 
lay and  repeat  all  the  passages,  in  which  the  re- 
quisition is  made.  It  is  written  very  plainly  upon 
all  parts  of  the  Bible,  from  the  beginning  to  the  end 
of  it.  "But  as  he,  which  hath  called  you,  is  ho- 
ly," says  the  apostle  Peter,  "so  be  ye  holy  in  all 
manner  of  conversation;  because  it  is  written,  be 
ye  holy,  for  I  am  holy."  All,  therefore,  which  we 
have  to  say  further  at  the  present  time  is  this : 
Those,  who  aim  at  the  possession  of  the  Hidden 


OF    HOLINESS.  31 

Life,  who  wish  to  walk  with  God  and  to  hold  com- 
mimioii  with  him  in  the  interior  man,  as  a  friend 
converses  with  a  friend,  will  find  these  glorious 
results  impossible  to  them,  except  on  the  condition 
of  HOLINESS  OF  HEART.  So  long  as  they  indulge 
voluntarily  in  any  known  sin,  they  erect  a  wall 
of  separation  between  themselves  and  their  heav- 
enly Father ;  and  he  cannot  and  will  not  take  them 
into  his  bosom,  and  reveal  to  them  the  hidden  se- 
crets of  his  love.  They  must  stand  far  off;  we  do 
not  say  that  they  are  utterly  rejected  ;  but  they  occu- 
py the  position  of  their  own  selection ;  obscure  and 
perplexed  in  their  ovm.  experience,  and  darkness 
and  perplexity  to  all  around  them. 


CHAPTER  THIRD. 


Directions  to  aid  in  the   attainment  of  Holiness. 

Having  in  the  second  Chapter  attempted  to 
show,  that  the  higher  reahzations  of  the  rehgious 
Ufe,  those  in  which  the  wall  of  separation  is  broken 
down  and  the  fallen  spirit  of  man  emerges  into 
unity  with  its  maker,  can  exist  only  in  connection 
with  holiness  of  heart,  the  next  important  question 
to  be  considered  is,  How  we  may  attain  to  a  state 
of  holiness  1  How  may  we  experience  the  desir- 
able change  from  weakness  of  faith  to  assurance 
of  faith,  from  a  weak  and  vacillating  love  to  per- 
fection of  love,  or,  what  is  to  be  regarded  as  essen- 
tially the  same  thing,  from  a  partial  to  a  state  of 
entire  sanctification '?  In  reply  to  this  interesting 
inquiry,  Ave  proceed  to  remark,  that  there  are  three 
things,  upon  which,  in  connection  with  the  opera- 
tions and  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  this  great 
result  seems  especially  to  depend. 

First. — And  the  first  is  a  belief  in  the  attaina- 
bleness  of  sanctification  or  holiness  at  the  present 
time. 

There  are  two  acknowledged  principles  in  the 
philosophy  of  the  human  mind,  which  have  an  im- 


ATTAINMENT   OF   HOLINESS.  33 

portant  connection  with  such  behef.  The  first  is, 
that  we  never  can  feel  under  moral  obligation  to 
do  a  thing  which  we  believe  impossible  to  be 
done.  Now  the  popular  doctrine,  that  no  man 
ever  has  been  sanctified,  or  ever  will  be  sanctified, 
till  the  moment  of  death,  places,  in  the  view 
of  the  common  mind,  the  opposite  doctrine,  viz. 
tliat  sanctification  is  attainable  at  any  period 
of  life,  in  the  light  of  an  impossibility.  The 
idea,  that  no  man  has  been  sanctified  or  will  be 
sanctified  till  death,  is  inexplicable  in  the  view  of 
men  generally,  except  on  the  ground  that  there  is 
some  insuperable  obstacle  in  the  way  of  it,  although 
they  may  not  readily  perceive  or  explain  what  that 
obstacle  is.  The  conviction  of  the  impossibility  of 
present  sanctification  will  exist  in  the  common 
mind  as  it  has  done  in  times  past,  just  so  long  as 
the  popular  doctrine,  that  there  have  not  been  and 
never  will  be  cases  of  it,  prevails.  And  the  conse- 
quence is,  as  might  naturally  be  expected,  that 
throughout  a  great  proportion  of  the  churches  the 
sense  of  obligation  to  be  holy  is  very  feeble.  It  is 
not  wrought  into  the  mind ;  it  does  not  weigh  up- 
on it  heavily,  and  give  it  no  rest.  Nor  is  it  possi- 
ble on  the  principles  of  mental  philosophy  that  it 
should,  while  the  common  notions  on  this  subject 
remain.  Men  will  never  feel  the  obligation  to  be 
what  they  believe  it  impossible  for  them  to  be. — 
Now  this  great  work  of  holiness,  we  venture  to  say, 
will  never  be  accomplished  in  us  without  a  deep 
sense  of  our  obligation  to  be  holy. 

Another  principle,  involved  in  the  philosophy  of 


34  DIRECTIONS    TO    AID    IN    THE 

the  mind,  and  having  a  connection  with  this  sub- 
ject, is  this :  No  person,  such  is  the  relation  be- 
tween the  will  and  belief,  can  put  forth  a  volition 
to  do  a  thing,  which  at  the  same  time  he  believes 
impossible  to  be  done.  I  do  not  believe,  for  in- 
stance, in  the  possibility  of  flying  in  the  air  ;  and  I 
am  unable  to  put  forth  a  volition  to  do  any  such 
thing.  I  may  exercise  a  desire  to  fly  in  the  air; 
but  while  I  have  an  utter  disbelief  in  its  possibility, 
I  shall  never  put  forth  a  volition  to  do  it.  So  if  I 
disbelieve  in  the  possibility  of  being  holy,  I  can 
never  put  forth  a  volition,  (hat  is  to  say,  a  fixed  de- 
termination, to  be  so.  I  may  put  forth  a  volition 
to  do  many  good  things ;  I  may  put  forth  a  volition 
to  grow  in  grace;  but  to  put  forth  a  volition,  a 
fixed,  unalterable  determination,  with  divine  as- 
sistance, to  resist  and  overcome  every  sin,  to  be 
wholly  the  Lord's,  to  be  holy,  when  I  believe  such 
a  result  to  be  unattainable,  is  what,  on  the  principles 
of  the  philosophy  of  the  mind,  I  am  unable  to  do. 
I  might  as  well  put  forth  a  volition  to  create  a  con- 
tinent, or  to  remove  the  Rocky  Mountains  into  the 
Pacific  Ocean,  or  to  do  any  thing  else,  which  I 
know  it  to  be  impossible  for  me  to  do. 

Now  if  these  two  philosophical  principles  have 
been  correctly  stated,  first,  that  the  sense  of  obhga- 
tion  to  be  holy  at  the  present  time  will  depend  on 
a  belief  in  the  present  attainableness  of  holiness ; 
and,  second,  that  the  volition  or  voluntary  deter- 
mination to  be  holy  now,  necessarily  presupposes 
the  same  belief;  then  we  see  very  clearly  the  im- 
portance of   being    established  in  this  doctrine. 


ATTAINMENT    OF    HOLINESS.  35 

Who  can  expect  to  be  holy  now,  and  holy  through 
his  whole  life,  that  does  not  feel  the  weight  of  obli- 
gation to  be  so  ?  Still  more,  who  can  reasonably 
expect  to  be  holy,  that  does  not  put  forth  a  volition, 
a  fixed,  unalterable  determination  with  divine  as- 
sistance to  be  so  }  And  if  these,  the  obligation  and 
tlie  volition  or  fixed  purpose  of  mind,  depend  on 
the  antecedent  belief,  then  evidently  the  first  great 
preparatory  step  to  a  holy  life,  is,  to  be  fully  settled 
in  the  doctrine  ; — in  other  words,  to  believe  fully  in 
tlie  attainableness  of  holiness  at  the  present  time. 
And  this,  as  the  matter  presents  itself  to  my  own 
mind,  is,  practically,  a  very  important  conclusion. 
Upon  the  mind,  that  can  appreciate  the  relation  and 
the  application  of  the  principles  which  have  just 
been  laid  down,  the  reception  of  the  conmion  doc- 
trine of  the  impossibility  of  present  sanctification 
presses  with  the  weight  of  a  millstone.  A  person 
in  this  position  feels,  that  he  cannot  move ;  he  is 
like  a  man  that  is  shut  up  in  prison  and  in  irons, 
and  in  accordance  with  the  saying,  that  '-hope  de- 
ferred maketh  the  heart  sick,"  he  soon  ceases  to 
make  effort,  when  there  is  nothing  but  defeat  be- 
fore him.  We  say,  then,  to  every  one,  who  feels 
the  importance  of  this  subject,  and  who  is  sincere- 
ly desirous  to  be  holy  in  heart,  go  to  the  Bible.  Go 
with  a  single  eye.  Go  in  the  spirit  of  humble 
prayer.  And  see  whether  the  Lord  does  not  re- 
quire you  to  be  wholly  his,  in  the  exercise  of  as- 
surance of  faith  and  of  perfect  love; — and  whether 
he  has  not,  in  the  blood  of  his  Son,  made  ample 
provision  for  this  blessed  result  ? 


36  DIRECTIONS   TO   AID   IN   THE 

Second. — In  answer  to  the  question,  how  we 
may  attain  to  holiness,  we  proceed  to  say,  that  a 
second  indispensable  thing  is  an  act  of  personal 
consecration  to  God.  Some  confound  such  an  act 
of  consecration  with  the  full  or  complete  state  of 
sanctification.  But  this  confusion  of  ideas  ought 
to  be  avoided.  Sanctification  is  something  more 
than  the  consecrating  act.  Consecration  is  simply 
putting  forth  the  volition,  (a  foundation  for  which 
is  now  laid  in  the  belief  of  the  duty  and  the  attain- 
ableness  of  holiness,)  the  fixed  unalterable  deter- 
mination, with  divine  assistance,  to  be  wholly  the 
Lord's.  In  other  words,  it  is  a  fixed  purpose,  not  to 
be  altered  during  the  whole  period  of  our  existence, 
to  break  off  from  every  known  sin ;  and  to  walk, 
to  the  full  extent  of  our  ability,  in  the  way  of  the 
divine  requirements.  God  recognizes  the  moral 
agency  of  man,  fallen  as  he  is  ;  and  very  properly 
calls  upon  him  and  requires  him  to  make  this  con- 
secration, however  unavailable  it  may  ultimately 
be  without  his  own  accessory  aid.  Now  it  does 
not  necessarily  follow,  because  we  put  forth  a  de* 
termination  to  do  a  thing,  that  the  thing  is  done; 
although  it  is  certain  that  the  thing  will  never  be 
done  without  the  previous  determination.  Such  a 
consecration,  therefore,  extending  to  all  that  we 
are  and  all  that  we  have,  is  necessary.  And  let 
it  not  be  said,  that  we  have  no  power  to  make  it. 
We  are  not  speaking  now  of  persons,  who  are  in 
the  deadness  of  original  unconversion.  We  are 
speaking  of  Christians,  of  persons  in  a  justified 
state,  whose  dead  wills  have  been  partially  quick- 


ATTAINMENT   OF    HOLINESS.  37 

ened  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  who  certainly  can  do 
something  in  this  way.  Such  a  consecration,  there- 
fore, made  with  the  whole  soul  and  for  all  coming 
time,  is  necessary. 

And  it  is  so,  first,  because  we  can  have  no  avail- 
able faith  in  the  promises  of  God  without  it.  It  is 
a  great  complaint  in  the  Christian  church  at  the 
present  day,  that  there  is  a  want  of  faith.  If  we 
may  take  the  statements  of  Christians  themselves, 
they  do  not  believe ;  certainly  not  as  they  should  do. 
And  why  is  it  7  It  is  because  they  have  not  fully 
consecrated  themselves  to  God;  in  other  words, 
they  coi  i  tinue  to  indvilge  in  some  known  sins.  Such 
are  the  laws  of  the  mind,  that  they  cannot  have 
full  faith  in  God  as  a  friend  and  father  to  them,  so 
long  as  they  are  conscious  of  voluntarily  sinning 
af^ainst  him.  The  Saviour  himself  has  distinctly 
recognized  the  principle,  that  faith  under  such  cir- 
cumstances is  an  impossibility.  "How  can  ye  be- 
lieve, who  receive  honor  one  of  another,  and  seek 
not  the  honor  that  cometh  from  God  only?"  If 
we  seek  the  honor  that  cometh  from  God,  in  other 
words,  if  in  the  fixed  purpose  of  our  minds  we 
consecrate  ourselves  to  him,  to  do,  as  far  as  in  us 
lies,  his  whole  will,  then,  and  not  otherwise,  we 
can  believe  that  he  will  be  to  us,  and  do  for  us,  all 
that  he  has  promised  in  his  Holy  Word.  It  is  pre- 
cisely here  as  it  is  in  common  life.  It  is  impossi- 
ble for  us,  in  our  intercourse  of  man  with  man,  to 
believe  that  a  man  whom  we  deliberately  sin 
against  and  injure,  has  confidence  in  us  and  loves 
us,  provided  we  are  certain  that  he  has  knowledge 
4 


38  DIRECTIONS    TO   AID    IN    THE 

of  the  fact.  The  principle  will  be  found  to  hold 
good  in  regard  to  God  as  well  as  man.  Before  Ad- 
am and  Eve  sinned,  they  had  faith  in  God  as  their 
father  and  friend.  But  their  faith  failed  as  soon 
as  they  had  sinned;  and  they  immediately  hid 
themselves  from  his  ])resence.  If  we  would  have 
faith,  therefore,  we  must  endeavor  by  consecration 
to  cease  from  all  known  voluntary  sin.  In  entire 
accordance  with  these  views  are  the  remarkable 
expressions  in  the  first  epistle  of  John.  '•  Beloved, 
if  our  heart  condemn  us  not,  then  have  we  confi- 
dence toward  God." 

An  act  of  entire  consecration  is  necessary,  so  far 
as  it  is  in  our  power  to  make  it,  secondly,  because 
we  have  no  encouragement  to  believe  that  God  will 
sanctify  us  in  the  state  of  personal  and  spiritual  in- 
activity and  declension.  As  has  already  been  said, 
God  recognizes  the  moral  agency  of  man,  fallen  as 
he  is  ;•  and  especially  when,  after  having  justified 
him  by  the  application  of  the  Saviour's  blood,  he 
has  given  him  the  principle  of  a  new  spiritual  life. 
It  is  because  he  has  given  us  the  power  of  distin- 
guishing between  good  and  evil ;  because  he  has 
given  us  judgment  and  conscience  and  will ;  be- 
cause he  has  breathed  into  us  the  breath  of  a  new 
spiritual  life  ;  thereby  putting  us  into  communica- 
tion with  himself,  and  opening  to  us  the  fountains  of 
everlasting  strength,  that  he  has  the  right  and  ex- 
ercises the  right  of  requiring  us  to  surrender  all  to 
him.  And  if  we  find  the  attempt  difficult,  as  no 
doubt  on  account  of  our  past  lives  we  shall  be  very 
likely  to,  he  nevertheless  requires  that  we  shall  do 


ATTAINMENT    OF    HOLINESS.  39 

all  that  we  can.  And  it  is  at  this  point,  when  we 
have  put  forth,  with  all  the  energy  and  sincerity  of 
our  being,  the  unalterable  determination,  relying 
upon  divine  assistance,  that  we  will  be  wholly  his, 
that  he  meets  us.  The  two  principles  of  entire 
consecration  and  of  divine  assistance  to  the  full  ex- 
tent of  the  promises,  go  together.  And  both  are  em- 
bodied in  that  remarkable  passage  of  Scripture, 
which  should  be  written  upon  the  heart  of  every 
believer, '•Co??te  ye  out  from  among  them,  and  be  ye  sep- 
arate, saith  the  Lord,  and  touch  not  the  unclean  thing; 
and  I  will  receive  you,  and  will  be  a  Father  unto  you,  and 
ye  shall  be  my  sons  and  my  daughters,  saith  the  Lord 
MnightyJ'  2  Cor.  vi.  17,  18. 

It  will  of  course  be  understood,  that,  in  making 
this  act  of  consecration,  we  have  a  sincere  and  ear- 
nest desire  for  holiness.  We  cannot  suppose  it  pos- 
sible, that  it  should  be  made  in  any  other  state  of 
mind. 

Thirdly  . — A  third  thing  requisite  in  order  to  pres- 
ent sanctification,  is  a  full  belief  in  the  faithfulness 
of  God  in  relation  to  the  fulfillment  of  his  promises. 
Having  believed,  first,  that  holiness  is  a  duty,  and 
that  such  provision  is  made  for  it  as  to  render  it 
attainable ;  and  having,  secondly,  consecrated  our- 
selves to  God  in  all  things  to  do  his  will,  we  are  now, 
in  the  third  place,  to  have  faith  in  him,  that  he  will  do 
what  he  has  voluntarily  assumed  as  his  own  part ; 
in  other  words,  that  he  will  fulfill  the  promises  he 
has  graciously  made ;  that  he  will  accept  the  sac- 
rifice which  we  have  deliberately  laid  upon  his  al- 
tar; and  make  us  fully  and  entirely  his.     This  is 


40  DIRECTIONS    TO   AID    IN    THE 

oftentimes  the  most  difficult  thing  of  the  whole  ;  dif- 
ficult, not  in  itself  considered  ;  but  in  consequence  of 
our  naturally  fallen  condition.  Some,  it  is  true,  be- 
lieve easily;  — believe  at  once  ;  and  of  course  enter 
in  at  such  an  open  door,  that  they  are  filled  with 
surprise.  But  many  stumble  at  this  point.  They 
feel  the  dreadful  eftects  of  former  habits  of  mind. 
That  old  unbelief,  which  has  so  long  kept  them  far 
from  God,  still  clings  to  them.  They  hesitate,  lin- 
ger, become  discouraged,  and  are  oftentimes  defeat- 
ed. It  is  at  this  crisis  of  one's  religious  history, 
that  the  saying  of  Elizabeth  to  Mary  has  an  es- 
pecial meaning  ;  "Blessed  is  she  that  believed." 

There  is  one  thing,  in  particular,  which  seems 
to  render  it  necessary  to  believe  that  God  does  now 
accept  the  consecration,  which  is  made.  It  is,  that 
this  belief  constitutes,  if  we  may  so  express  it,  the 
transition  point,  (or  rather  perhaps  the  transition  it- 
self,) from  consecration  to  sanctification.  In  the 
act  of  consecration  we  solemnly  promise  the  Lord, 
that,  relying  upon  his  grace,  we  will  now  and  for- 
ever break  off  from  every  known  sin.  But  in  ex- 
ercising faith  in  God  as  true  to  his  promises  and  as 
giving  us  strength  to  be  his  and  as  now  receiving 
us,  we  may  be  said  in  some  respects  to  do  a  still 
greater  work,  viz.  we  renounce  absolutely  and  en- 
tirely all  self-reliance  and  all  confidence  in  our  own 
strength.  And  he,  who  breaks  off  from  every  known 
sin  ;  and  at  the  same  time  in  full  reliance  upon  the 
word  of  God  and  with  childlike  simplicity,  leaves 
himself  entirely  and  in  all  things  in  the  hands  of 
God,  unresistingly  to  receive  the   suggestions  and 


ATTAINMENT    OF    HOLINESS.  41 

to  fulfill  the  guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  necessarily 
becomes,  in  the  Scripture  sense  of  the  terms,  a  ho- 
ly or  sanctified  person.  He  becomes  so,  because 
he  is  precisely  in  that  position,  in  which  God  de- 
sires him  to  be,  and  in  which  the  grace  of  God  is 
pledged  to  give  redemption  and  victory.  God  ne- 
cessarily receives  him.  In  other  words,  he  passes 
from  a  state  of  rebellion  to  one  of  submission ;  from 
a  state  of  unbelief  to  one  of  childlike  confidence ; 
and  from  himself  and  out  of  himself  into  God. 

The  difficulty  of  believing  at  this  particular  crisis 
results  not  only  from  our  former  habits  of  imbelief ; 
but  also  in  part,  although  it  may  seem  to  be  a  contra- 
diction, from  the  extreme  simplicity  and  facility  of 
the  thing  to  be  done.  The  internal  process  in  the 
minds  of  many  persons,  when  they  arrive  at  this 
specific  point,  seems  to  be  like  this.  Is  it  possible, 
they  say,  that  we  can  experience  so  great  a  blessing 
in  a  manner  so  easy,  so  simple,  that  we  stum- 
ble at  its  very  simplicity?  Must  we  experience  the 
great  work  of  interior  salvation  in  the  way  of  re- 
nunciation, by  merely  giving  up  all  and  by  sinking 
into  the  simplicity  and  nothingness  of  little  chil- 
dren? Is  there  nothing,  which  is  personally  merito- 
rious, nothing  which  is  the  subject  of  self-gratula- 
tion,  neither  in  the  beginning,  nor  in  the  progress, 
nor  in  the  completion  of  the  divine  life  1  And  thus, 
through  the  extreme  goodness  of  God  in  making 
the  way  so  easy,  they  are  confused  and  kept  back. 
In  a  word,  they  disbelieve,  simply  because  in  this 
position  of  their  experience,  nothing  is  required  but 
4» 


42  DIRECTIONS    TO    AID    IN    HOLINESS. 

believing.  Happy  is  he,  who,  in  losing  all  things, 
gains  all  things.  Happy  is  he  ,who  alienates  him- 
self from  himself,  in  order  that  God  may  take  pos- 
session of  that  self,  which  he  has  renounced.  A- 
gaili  we  repeat, ''Blessed  is  she  that  believed."  It  is  in 
the  exercise  of  belief,  nnder  the  circumstances  which 
we  have  now  been  considering,  that  we  realize 
the  full  import  of  those  striking  passages  of  Scrip- 
ture, (passages  which  we  shall  probably  have  oc- 
casion to  remark  npon  hereafter)  Mark  xi.  24, 
"  Therefore  I  say  unto  you.,  ichat  tilings  soever  ye  desire., 
when  ye  pray^  believe  that  ye  receive  them.,  and  ye  shall 
have  them.^'  And  1st  Epistle  of  John  v.  1.5,  ^^  And 
this  is  the  confidence  that  we  have  in  him.,  that  if  we  ask 
any  thing  according  to  his  will,  he  heareth  us.  Jlnd  ij 
we  know  that  he  hears  ms,  whatsoever  ice  ask,  we  know  that 
we  have  the  petitions  that  we  desired  of  him.'' ^ 

A  faithful  and  persevering  application  of  the 
principles  laid  down  in  this  chapter,  attended  with 
reliance  on  God  for  his  blessing,  will  result,  we 
have  no  doubt,  in  leading  persons  into  the  narrow 
and  holy  way.  We  say  persevering  application, 
because  in  nothing  is  perseverance,  a  fixed  tenaci- 
ty of  purpose,  more  desirable  than  in  the  pursuit  of 
holiness.  He,  who  puts  his  hand  to  the  plough 
here,  with  the  secret  reservation  that  he  will  look 
back  when  he  pleases,  might  as  well  make  no  be- 
ginning. There  must  be  a  fixedness  of  determina- 
tion, which  will  not  be  discouraged  by  any  obsta- 
cles ;  an  inflexible  will,  which,  with  God's  blessing, 
will  continue  steadfast  to  the  end. 


CHAPTER   FOURTH. 


On  the  relation  of  Natural  and  Religions  Faith. 


A  PORTION  of  the  remarks  of  the  last  chapter, 
those  which  have  relation  to  our  exercising  trust  in 
the  divine  declarations,  naturally  introduce  us  to 
another  subject,  which  is  of  essential  importance  in 
the  internal  Christian  life.  It  is  not  easy  to  appre- 
ciate fully  the  various  practical  applications  and 
the  important  results,  connected  with  the  principle 
of  FAITH.  A  principle  so  fundamental,  taking  pre- 
cedence in  the  order  of  nature,  though  not  in  rank 
or  degree,  even  of  that  of  Love,  that  it  would  not 
be  easy  to  bestow  upon  it  too  early  or  too  careful  a 
notice.  The  subject  of  faith  will  be  repeatedly  in- 
troduced in  the  course  of  this  Work,  and  will  be 
considered  in  various  relations  and  aspects.  It  is 
our  object  in  the  present  chapter,  to  illustrate  brief- 
ly the  principles  and  results  of  religious  faith,  by  a 
reference  to  the  analogy  or  resemblance  of  natural 
faith ;  in  the  hopes  that  the  high  place  which  is 
assigned  to  faith  in  the  Scriptures,  will  be  less  ob- 
jected to,  when  we  remember,  that,  considered  as 
a  purely  natural  principle,  it  is  one  of  the  most 
powerfid  and  wonderful  principles,  which  our  Ma- 


44 


ON    THE    RELATION    OF 


ker  has  implanted  Avithin  ns.  In  other  words,  if 
we  understand  well  what  natural  faith  is,  we  have 
reason  to  think  and  believe,  that  we  shall  be  more 
likely  to  understand  and  appreciate  the  doctrines 
of  religious  faith. 

It  will  be  noticed  here,  that  we  do  not  confound 
together  Natural  and  Religious  faith,  as  if  they 
were  one  and  the  same  thing.  It  is  true  there  is 
a  common  nature  in  some  respects ;  but  the  differ- 
ence, nevertheless,  is  too  great  not  to  be  distinctly 
recognized.  We  consider  them,  though  closely 
connected,  as  evidently  separate,  and  shall  remark 
upon  them  separately  and  in  succession. 

First. — We  proceed  then  to  say,  in  the  first 
place,  that  natural  faith  is  the  gift  of  God  in  his 
natural,  and  not  in  his  religious  dispensation  of 
things.  In  other  words,  natural  faith  is  a  princi- 
ple of  our  nature.  It  is  a  principle  which  has  its 
origin  in  our  mental  constitution,  and  is  sustained 
by  its  appropriate  laws.  It  is  so  intimately  con- 
natural to  us,  and  is  so  constantly  operative,  that 
we  sometimes  almost  forget  that  we  are  possessed 
of  such  a  principle ;  and  we  certainly  have,  in 
general,  but  a  feeble  conception  of  its  immense  in- 
fluence ;  an  influence  which  is  felt  at  all  times,  in 
all  situations,  and  among  all  classes.  A  few  brief 
references  to  the  actual  state  of  things  will  illus- 
trate what  we  mean. 

The  life  of  children,  for  instance,  from  the  peri- 
od of  their  infancy  upward  to  the  years  of  their 
departure  from  the  parental  home,  is  a  life  of  faith. 
Not  of  religious  faith,  it  is  true ;  but  still  a  life  of 


NATURAL    AND    RELIGIOUS    FAITH.  45 

faith.  How  does  it  happen,  though  they  are  en- 
tirely dependent  for  food,  raiment,  and  shelter,  that 
they  nevertheless  have  no  trouble,  no  anxiety  on 
the  subject  7  The  answer  is,  because  they  have 
faith.  If  it  were  not  so,  if  they  were  deficient  in 
faith,  it  is  obvious  they  would  be  exceedingly 
wretched.  But  having  entire  faith  in  their  parents, 
that  they  will  provide  for  their  wants,  sympathize 
in  their  sorrows,  and  protect  them  in  danger,  they 
remain  in  simplicity  and  quietness  of  spirit ;  and 
in  the  language  of  Scripture,  "  are  careful  for  noth- 
ing." It  was  the  knowledge  of  this  fact  which  in- 
fluenced the  Savior, — not  exclusively,  perhaps,  but 
in  part, — to  direct  Christians,  so  often  and  emphat- 
ically as  he  did,  to  become  like  little  children. 

Again,  the  existence  and  the  operations  of  natu- 
ral faith  are  seen  in  the  intercourse  of  man  with 
man  in  the  relations  of  life  and  in  the  transactions 
of  business.  So  complicated  are  the  relations  of 
society,  and  so  dependent  is  man  on  his  fellow 
man,  that  it  is  difficult  to  see,  if  man  had  not  faith 
in  others,  how  he  could  exist  in  the  world  for  any 
length  of  time.  Faith  is  the  supporter  of  law  and 
order ;  the  basis  of  all  contracts  involving  future 
liabilities ;  the  strong  pillar  of  great  civil  and  polit- 
ical associations.  As  soon  as  there  is  a  cessation 
or  general  diminution  of  reciprocal  confidence  in 
the  community,  what  perplexities  arise  in  business! 
What  confusion  and  weakness  in  the  administra- 
tors of  the  law !  What  unavoidable  and  general 
ruin ! 


46  ON    THE    RELATION    OF 

We  may  add  further,  that  faith,  in  its  natural 
operation,  is  the  strength  of  individuals  as  well  as 
of  communities.  The  natural  man  is  strong  in 
natural  faith.  Who  expects  any  marked  and  fa- 
vorable results  from  the  man  who  has  no  faith  in 
himself,  and  no  faith  in  the  business  he  is  engaged 
in?  It  is  faith  in  himself,  which  gives  the  true  en- 
ergy to  his  efforts.  Indeed  the  well  known  law 
of  our  mental  nature,  which  was  made  the  subject 
of  remark  in  the  last  chapter,  shows  that  it  must  be 
so ;  viz.,  that  as  a  general  rule,  the  power  of  the  vo- 
lition, or  voluntary  purpose,  corresponds,  in  any 
given  case,  to  the  degree  of  faith  or  belief  which 
exists.  If,  for  instance,  we  have  absolutely  no  be- 
lief, or  faith,  that  we  are  able  to  do  a  given  thing, 
we  shall  find  it  utterly  impossible  to  put  forth  a 
volition  or  fixed  determination  to  do  it:  and  in  ac- 
cordance with  this  view,  if  we  have  doubts  of  the 
accomplishment  of  an  object,  in  other  words,  if 
our  faith  be  weak,  the  decision  which  we  form,  the 
purpose  of  movement  and  action,  will  generally  be 
found  to  be  proportionably  inefiicient.  And  hence 
it  is  a  common  artifice  among  men,  if  they  wish 
to  perplex  and  prevent  the  attainment  of  certain 
objects  by  others,  to  represent  such  objects  as  ex- 
ceedingly difficult,  and  even  unattainable,  on  the 
principle  that  in  proportion  as  their  belief  in  the 
attainableness  of  the  thing  is  weakened,  their  pur- 
pose and  effort  to  attain  it  will  be  less  vigorous. 
And  on  the  other  hand,  what  prodigies  have  been 
wrought  by  strength  of  faith,  even  natural  faith! 


NATURAL    AND    RELIGIOUS    FAITH.  47 

How  many  persons  have  been  carried,  by  the  mere 
energy  of  this  inferior  form  of  faith,  through  amaz- 
ing difficuhies  to  the  possession  of  natural  and 
worldly  objects!  It  was  obviously  faith  in  the 
practicability  of  his  plans,  which  supported  the 
great  Athenian  orator  through  the  immense  diffi- 
culties of  his  position,  and  placed  him  ultimately 
at  the  head  of  the  Commonwealth.  It  was  faith, 
operating  in  connection  with  other  remarkable  ele- 
ments of  character,  which  carried  the  armies  of 
Hannibal  over  the  terrific  barriers  of  the  Alps. 
What  sustained  Columbus,  in  his  vast  and  untried 
project  of  attempting  to  find  a  new  world,  but 
strong,  unconquerable  faith  in  the  practicability  of 
his  object  ?  Who  would  meet  the  scorn  and  criti- 
cisms of  men ;  who  would  endure  pains  of  body 
and  mind ;  who  would  undergo  the  perils  of  the 
ocean,  the  vicissitudes  of  climate,  of  hunger,  thirst, 
and  nakedness,  for  the  attainment  of  an  object 
which  he  believed  to  be  impracticable,  and  in  re- 
gard to  which,  therefore,  he  had  no  faith  7  But 
often,  very  often,  have  these  things  been  done  in 
the  strength  of  faith.  Ridicule  has  been  met ;  op- 
position has  been  braved ;  suffering,  in  all  the  va- 
rieties of  its  forms,  has  been  endured ;  and  that, 
too,  calmly,  patiently  and  triumphantly,  when 
strong  faith  has  been  the  soul's  support.  It  is  faith 
which,  in  commercial  enterprises,  in  inventions  in 
the  arts,  in  projects  of  remote  discovery,  in  great 
social  and  political  movements,  makes  men  suc- 
cessful adventurers,  discoverers,  reformers,  con- 
querors, martyrs.     And  if  such  are  the  marked  re- 


48  ON    THE    RELATION    OF 

suits  of  mere  natural  faith,  what  may  we  not  ex- 
pect from  the  more  ennobling  principle  of  religious 
faith! 

Second. — We  proceed  now  to  the  other  and  more 
important  view  of  the  subject.  Religious  faith, 
that  which  enables  us  effectually  to  embrace  Christ 
as  our  Savior  and  God  as  our  portion,  that  which 
enables  us  to  regard  the  threatenings  and  promises 
of  God  as  present  realities,  is  obviously  not  the 
natural  inheritance  of  man  in  his  present  fallen 
state,  but  is  the  special  gift  of  God  through  the  op- 
eration of  the  Holy  Spirit.  In  its  nature,  that  is  to 
say,  in  its  purely  psychological  or  mental  develop- 
ment, it  must  be  admitted  that  it  appears  to  be  and 
probably  is  essentially  the  same  with  natural  faith ; 
but  it  is  modified  and  characterized  by  the  impor- 
tant facts,  that  it  arises  on  its  own  peculiar  occa- 
sions, that  it  has  its  peculiar  and  appropriate  ob- 
jects, and  that  it  is  of  divine  origin.  Nevertheless  it 
remains  true,  notwithstanding  the  important  dis- 
tinction which  has  just  been  referred  to,  that  reli- 
gious faith,  when  once  graciously  implanted  in  the 
soul,  operates,  in  many  respects,  similarly  or  anal- 
ogously to  natural  faith,  observing  the  same  gener- 
al laws  and  characterized  by  the  same  general  re- 
sults. A  few  statements  will  indicate  and  illus- 
trate some  of  the  leading  points  of  analogy  between 
the  two  forms  of  faith,  and  will  tend  to  throw  light 
upon  the  subject  of  faith  in  general. 

(1.)  In  the  exercise  of  natural  faith  in  our  pa- 
rents, for  instance,  we  have  entire  and  unwavering 
confidence  that  they  will  be  kind  to  us ;  that  they 


NATURAL    AND    RELIGIOUS    FAITH.  49 

will  watch  over  us  and  feed  us;  that  they  will 
clothe  us  and  shelter  us.  Our  faith  in  them  is  so 
strong,  is  so  exclusive  of  any  uncertainty,  that  it 
practically  becomes  moral  certainty  and  knowl- 
edge. Accordingly  we  have  no  hesitancy  in  say- 
ing, that  the  country,  which  they  inhabit,  will  be 
our  country  ;  that  the  hearth  which  beams  for  them 
will  shine  also  for  us  ;  that  the  home  which  shel- 
ters them  will  shelter  us.  Where  they  go,  we  go  ; 
where  they  lodge,  we  lodge.  Religious  faith, 
which  has  a  different  object,  nevertheless  operates 
analogously.  It  attaches  itself  to  God  as  its  ob- 
ject, and  recognizes  him  as  our  Father.  The  ob- 
ject is  changed ;  the  inward  operation  of  the  prin- 
ciple is  chiefly  sustained  by  an  imparted  and  gra- 
cious efficacy ;  but  the  manner  of  the  operation 
and  the  result  are  the  same.  Accordingly,  when 
it  is  in  full  exercise,  we  trust,  with  entire  assur- 
ance, all  our  interests  in  the  hands  of  our  heavenly 
Father ;  we  resolve  all  secondary  instrumentality 
into  his  instrumentality;  we  rejoice  in  him  in  pros- 
perity and  adversity,  in  health  and  in  sickness; 
we  take  him  as  our  all  in  all. 

In  the  beautiful  language  of  Madame  Guyon,  as 
it  is  translated  by  Cowper,  we  can  say  in  the  full- 
ness of  our  hearts ; 

"  To  me  remains  nor  place  nor  timfl, 
"  My  country  is  in  every  clime  ; 
"  I  can  be  calm  and  free  from  care 
"  On  every  shore,  since  God  is  there. 

(2.)  Again.  Natural  faith  operates,  or  "works," 
in  the  Scripture  form  of  expression,   by  natural 
5 


50  ON    THE    RELATION    OF 

love.  It  is  faith  which,  more  than  any  thing  else, 
holds  the  key  that  unlocks  love's  golden  fountain. 
Who  can  love  another,  except,  perhaps,  with  that 
lower  form  of  love,  which  is  synonymous  with  pity 
or  sympathy,  in  whom  he  has  no  faith?  How 
soon  does  our  love  to  a  person,  to  whom  we  were 
once  devotedly  attached,  cease,  when  our  faith  in 
him  ceases !  No  sooner  is  the  confidence  which 
we  reposed  in  the  person's  truth,  honor  and  other 
estimable  qualities,  taken  away,  than  the  love 
which  rested  upon  it  falls  to  the  ground.  And 
thus  religious  faith,  sustained  by  the  Holy  Spirit, 
but  operating  in  a  manner  entirely  analogous,  is 
undoubtedly  the  true  basis  of  religious  love.  With- 
out the  key  of  faith,  the  fountain  of  divine  love 
would  not  be  opened  in  our  hearts.  It  would  be 
impossible.  It  is  because  we  believe  or  have  faith 
in  God  as  just,  benevolent,  and  holy,  as  possessed 
of  every  possible  perfection  calculated  to  attract 
and  secure  our  love,  that  we  love  him.  And  it  is 
a  groat  and  important  truth,  as  certain  on  natural 
principles  as  it  is  on  Scriptural  principles,  that  our 
love  will  rise  and  fall  just  in  proportion  to  our 
faith.  If  our  hearts  are  full  of  love  to  God  at  the 
present  moment,  and  we  should  the  next  moment 
cease  to  believe  in  him  as  a  God  of  truth,  justice 
and  goodness,  our  love  would  necessarily  terminate 
at  once.  Such  is  the  great  law  of  our  intellectual 
and  moral  being ;  and  such  is  the  doctrine  of  the 
Scriptures. 

(3.)  We  proceed  to  remark  dgain,  that  the  anal- 
ogy or  resemblance  between  natural  faith  and  re- 


NATURAL    AND    RELIGIOUS    FAITH.  51 

ligious  faith  may  be  observed  in  another  important 
particuUir.  It  is  an  important  law  of  natural  faith, 
that  it  acquires  strength  by  repetition  or  habit. 
Of  the  existence  of  the  law  of  habit,  and  of  its  ex- 
tensive applications,  probably  no  persons,  who  are 
acquainted  with  the  operations  of  the  human  mind, 
will  have  any  doubt :  and  in  accordance  with  this 
law,  every  new  exercise  of  confidence  or  faith  in 
any  one  of  our  fellow  men,  tends  to  increase  the 
confidence  or  faith  already  existing.  Religious  as 
well  as  natural  faith  may  be  increased  by  the  same 
law  and  in  the  same  manner.  In  other  words, 
every  new  exercise  of  faith  in  God  and  in  his  great 
precepts  and  promises,  which  is  the  true  idea  of  re- 
ligious faith,  increases  the  strength  of  the  principle 
of  faith.  This  is,  practically,  a  very  important 
view ;  and  especially  to  those  who  are  desirous  of 
hving  a  truly  holy  life.  I  am  aware  that  the  in- 
crease of  religious  faith,  as  well  as  its  origin  in  the 
first  instance,  is  the  gift  of  God.  But  God  very 
properly  requires  us  to  observe  the  laws  of  our  men- 
tal nature,  and  to  do  what  it  is  our  privilege  to  do. 
Accordingly  the  blessing  of  God,  manifested  in  the 
increase  of  religious  faith,  seems  to  me,  as  a  gener- 
al thing,  to  conform  to  this  view ;  and  that  those 
and  those  only  who,  in  observance  of  the  natural 
law,  diligently  exercise  the  faith  they  already  have,  can 
reasonably  expect  to  have  more,  either  by  natural 
increase  or  by  special  grace.  And,  indeed,  the 
doctrine  which  has  now  been  advanced  will  apply 
to  all  the  Christian  gracies,  since  God  no  where 
gives  encouragement,  so  far  as  we  can  perceive, 


iy:i  ON    THE    KELATION    OF 

that  he  will  add  to  the  possessions  of  him  who  mis- 
improves  even  his  one  talent.  "For  whosoever 
hath,  to  him  shall  be  given,  and  he  shall  have  more 
abundance;  but  whosoever  hath  not,  from  him 
shall  be  taken  away  even  that  he  hath."  Matt, 
xiii.  12. 

(4.)  We  remark  further,  that  religious  faith,  in 
perfect  analogy  to  that  which  is  natural,  brings 
personal  and  mighty  energy  to  its  possessor ;  and 
places  in  his  hand,  in  the  sharp  contest  with  sin 
and  Satan,  the  shield  of  victory.  It  does  this, 
among  other  things,  and  on  the  same  principle  that 
natural  faith  does,  by  giving  exceeding  power  to 
his  religious  volitions  or  determinations.  The  man 
who  has  no  faith,  is  necessarily  powerless.  He  is 
smitten  by  the  irreversible  law  of  nature,  as  well  as 
by  the  present  and  special  frown  of  God.  He  lies 
prostrate  upon  the  ground,  a  mere  imbecile,  use- 
less and  impracticable  alike  to  good  and  evil ;  but 
he  who  has  faith  acts,  and  acts  vigorously.  Faith 
diffuses  a  calm  but  effective  energy  through  the 
whole  man :  especially  is  this  true  of  religious  faith. 
He  who  has  this  faith,  possesses  the  power  of  ad- 
ding the  infinite  to  the  finite.  He  relies  on  the  di- 
vine promises,  in  the  occasions  on  which  they  prop- 
erly apply,  as  things  in  a  present  fulfillment;  and 
thus  incorporates  with  his  own  comparative  and 
acknowledged  weakness,  the  mighty  energy  of  a 
present  God.  And  besides  all  this,  God  bestows 
especial  honor  upon  those  who  possess  religious 
faith.  They,  and  they  only,  are  his  dear  children. 
Their  names  are  written  upon  his  heart  of  infinite 


NATURAL    AND    RELIGIOUS    FAITH.  53 

love.  Every  element  of  his  nature  is  pledged  in 
their  behalf.  And  hence  we  should  not  be  sur- 
prised, when  we  consider  what  power  faith  has  in 
itself  by  its  natural  law,  and  also  that  it  takes  hold 
of  the  infinite  God,  and  enlists  in  our  behalf  his 
mighty  heart  of  love,  that  the  Holy  Scriptures  are 
sprinkled  over,  as  it  were,  with  illustrations  and 
declarations  of  the  immense  efficacy  and  of  the 
wonderful  triumphs  of  this  divine  principle  : 

"Faith,  mighty  faith,  the  promise  sees, 

"And  looks  to  that  alone  ; 
"Laughs  at  impossibilities, 

"  And  cries,  IT  shall  be  done." 

In  conclusion,  we  have  but  one  remark  more  to 
make,  which  seems  to  flow  naturally  out  of  what 
has  been  said.  The  remark  will  be,  in  part,  a  rep- 
etition of  what  has  been  said  in  the  preceding  chap- 
ter ;  but  it  seems  to  me  deserving  of  repeated  notice 
and  reflection.  It  is  well  understood  and  admitted 
among  the  believers  in  present  sanctification,  that 
sanctification,  as  well  as  justification,  'js.  'by  faith, 
and  that  it  can  be  in  no  other  way.  Now  any  crSed 
or  doctrine,  which,  either  by  direct  assertion  or  by 
implication,  makes  present  sanctification,  otherwise 
termed  holiness  or  perfected  love,  a  practical  im- 
possibility, necessarily  excludes  and  annihilates  all 
faith  which  is  appropriate  to  that  particular  result. 
And  on  the  principles  which  have  been  laid  down, 
he,  who  has  no  faith  in  the  present  attainableness 
of  sanctification,  is  necessarily  deprived  of  the 
great  source  and  instrument  of  sanctifying  power. 
He  lies  prostrate,  overwhelmed,  hopeless.  Can  it 
5» 


5  4  OF  NATURAL  AND  RELIGIOUS  FAITH. 

be  surprising  then,  that  so  many  Christians  live  in 
a  sort  of  hopeless  bondage  to  sin,  when  the  preva- 
lent doctrine  is,  that  present  sanctification,  or  sanc- 
tification  antecedent  to  the"article  of  death,"  never 
has  been  and  never  will  be  attained  7  If  we  do  not 
believe  in  the  possibility  of  present  sanctification, 
then  we  are  not  in  a  situation  to  put  forth  the  fixed 
and  irrevocable  purpose  or  determination  of  mind 
which  is  requisite  to  a  successful  pursuit  of  it.  If 
we  do  not  believe  in  the  practicability  and  attain- 
ableness  of  present  sanctification,  then  we  cannot 
exercise  faith  in  those  important  portions  of  the  di- 
vine word  which  promise  it.  And  we  see  here  an 
explanation,  in  part,  at  least,  why  a  portion  of  the 
followers  of  Christ  remain  in  great  darkness  and 
sorrow,  and  almost  constantly  under  the  dominion 
of  sin,  while  others,  operating  on  a  difterent  theo- 
logical basis,  and  availing  themselves  of  the  mighty 
power  of  faith,  mount  upward  to  regions  of  inward 
light  and  life. 


I  sat  me  down  in  earth's  benighted  vale, 
And  had  no  courage  and  no  strength  to  rise  ; 
Sad  to  the  passing  breeze  I  told  my  tale, 
And  bowed  my  head  and  drained  my  weeping  eyes. 
But  Faith  came  by,  and  took  me  by  the  hand  j 
And  now  the  valleys  rise,  the  mountains  fall ; 
Welcome  the  stormy  sea  !  the  dangerous  land  ! 
With  Faith  to  aid  me,  I  can  conquer  all. 


CHAPTER  FIFTH. 


Appropriating  Faith. 


We  speak  only  the  general  sentiment,  in  mak- 
ing faith  the  foundation  of  the  religious  life.  The 
blessings,  which  are  purchased  and  are  offered  us 
in  the  New  Covenant,  in  particular,  cannot  be  re- 
ceived except  by  faith.  In  the  language  of  Mr. 
Erskine,  which  is  well  adapted  to  popular  appre- 
hension, "  Christ  is  the  bread  of  life,  faith  is  the 
mouth  of  the  soul,  that  eats  and  feeds  upon  him. 
Christ  is  the  mystical  brazen  serpent,  faith  the  eye 
of  the  soul  that  looks  to  him  for  healing.  Christ  is 
tlie  strong  hold  cast  open  to  the  prisoners  of  hope, 
faith  the  foot  of  the  soul,  that  runs  into  him  for 
shelter."^^  If  it  is  desirable  to  live  acceptably  to 
God  and  to  walk  in  the  light  of  his  countenance,  it 
is  desirable  to  possess  faith.  We  are  told  in  the 
Scriptures,  that  "  without /a?7/i  it  is  impossible  to 
please  God."  How  important  it  is,  therefore,  to 
have  right  views  of  this  excellent  Christian  grace, 
considered  in  its  relation  to  sanctification  and  holy 
living,  as  well  as  in  its  connection  with  justifica- 
tion. 


*  Ebenezer  Erskine  on  the  Assurance  of  Faith.  Discourse  II. 


56  APPROPRIATING   FAITH. 

There  are  three  leading  kinds  of  faith,  saying 
nothing  of  some  subordinate  modifications,  viz. 
historical  faith,  a  general  religious  faith,  and  an 
appropriating  faith ;  each  of  which  is  entitled  to  a 
brief  notice.  An  historical  faith  in  the  Saviour  is 
merely  a  belief  that  such  a  man  as  Jesus  Christ, 
possessing  many  of  the  virtuous  traits  which  his 
biographers  have  ascribed  to  him,  appeared  in  Pal- 
estine at  the  commencement  of  the  Christian  era. 
It  is  not  easy  to  see  how  a  person  who  gives  cre- 
dence to  any  of  the  historical  narrations  of  antiqui- 
ty, can  do  otherwise  than  receive  this  belief  This 
faith,  however,  does  not  necessarily  involve  the 
existence  of  religion,  or  even  of  good  morals.  Men 
of  abandoned  characters  and  of  essentially  infidel 
sentiments  may  go  as  far  as  this.  Voltaire  and 
other  distinguished  enemies  of  the  Christian  sys- 
tem had  a  belief  of  this  kind. 

"Alas,"  says  Jacob  Behmen,  speaking  of  the 
state  of  things  in  his  times,  of  which  he  says,  that 
true  faith  was  never  weaker  since  Christ's  time 
than  it  is  now,  "  the  faith  of  this  day  is  but  histor- 
ical, a  mere  assent  to  the  matter  of  fact,  that  Jesus 
Christ  lived  and  died,  that  the  Jews  killed  him, 
that  he  left  this  world,  and  is  not  king  on  earth  in 
the  outward  man  ;  but  that  men  may  do  what  they 
list,  and  need  not  die  from  sin  and  their  evil  lusts. 
All  this  the  wicked  child  self  rejoiceth  in,  that  it 
may  fatten  the  Devil  by  living  deliciously."^ 

(2.)  There  is  also  a  general  religious  faith.  A 
person  may  not  only  believe  with  those  who  pos- 

*  The  Way  to  Christ,  Bk.  II,  Chap.  3,  ^.  52. 


APPROPRIATING    FAITH.  57 

sess  an  historical  faith,  that  there  was  such  a  man 
as  Jesus  Christ;  but  may  also  believe,  that  he  died 
for  the  salvation  of  men  in  general.  This  form  of 
faith,  it  is  true,  is  important;  but  it  does  not  and 
cannot  secure  all  those  objects  which  are  ascribed 
to  faith  in  the  Bible.  I  suppose  it  may  be  said 
with  truth,  that  the  devils  believe  and  know,  not 
only  that  there  was  such  a  being  as  Jesus  Christ, 
but  that  he  died  upon  the  cross  for  sinners.  It  does 
not  commend  itself  to  human  reason,  and  still  less 
to  the  word  of  God,  to  say  that  a  man  has  saving 
faith,  who  believes  in  Jesus  Christ  as  the  Saviour 
of  the  world  so  far  as  the  world  receives  him  in 
that  capacity,  and  yet  individually  and  personally 
does  not  believe  in  him  as  his  own  Saviour.  If 
such  a  general  and  unappropriating  faith  were  suf- 
ficient, it  would  be  no  difficult  matter  to  fill  up  our 
churches,  since  those  who  have  such  a  faith  a§ 
illis  may  be  found  in  great  numbers. 

But  a  faith  of  this  kind,  and  which  goes  no  fur- 
ther than  this,  is  practically  dead.  And  perhaps  it 
may  be  said  here,  that  the  great  sirTof  the  people  of 
our  own  age  is,  not  that  they  have  merely  an  his- 
torical faith  and  stop  in  that,  as  in  some  former 
corrupt  periods  ;  but  that  they  too  often  rest  satis- 
fied with  a  general  and  abstract  faith,  which  is 
theoretically  applicable  to  the  world  at  large,  with- 
out bringing  it  home  to  themselves.  They  believe 
in  the  general  truth,  without  making  a  specific  and 
personal  application ;  and  thus  serve  Satan  as  ef- 
fectually, as  far  as  they  are  personally  concerned, 
as  if  they  had  only  an  historical  faith. 


58  APPROPRIATING   FAITH. 

(3.)  A  third  form  or  modification  of  the  great 
principle  of  faith,  is  what  may  be  called  appropri- 
ating FAITH.  The  necessity  of  this  form  of  faith  is 
evident  from  even  a  slight  consideration  of  the  sub- 
ject. The  usual  understanding  is,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  those  who  hold  strictly  to  a  limited  atone- 
ment, that  our  Saviour  has  provided  a  common 
salvation,  adequate  to  the  wants  of  all ;  but  avail- 
able only  in  the  case  of  those  who  exercise  faith. 
How  far  this  salvation  will  practically  extend; 
how  many  individuals  will  avail  themselves  of  it ; 
why  some  are  taken  and  others  are  left,  we  cannot 
tell ;  nor  are  we  certain,  that  it  is  important  for  us 
to  know.  But  certain  it  is,  that  no  one  will  ac- 
cept of  the  provision  which  is  made,  without  faith. 
But  what  sort  of  faith  1  The  answer  is,  It  is  that 
which  can  speak  in  the  first  person ;  that  Avhich 
has  an  appropriating  power ;  that  which  can  say  / 
have  sinned  ;  /have  need  of  this  salvation;  /take 
it  home  to  myself  It  is  not  enough  for  me  to  say, 
I  believe  that  Christ  died  for  others ;  I  must  also 
believe  that  he  died  for  me  mdividually,  and  ac- 
cept of  him  as  my  Saviour.  It  is  not  meant  by 
this,  that  previous  to  the  exercise  of  appropriating 
faith,  and  independently  of  such  exercise,  we  have  a 
special  or  particular  interest  in  Christ,  separate 
from  aiid  above  that  of  others ;  and  that  appropri- 
ating faith  consists  in  believing  in  this  special  or 
particular  interest.  An  appropriating  faith  of  this 
kind,  and  operating  in  this  manner,  might  be  very 
dangerous.  It  is  merely  meant,  that  out  of  the 
common  interest,  which  is  broad  as  the  human 


APPROPRIATING   FAITH.  59 

race,  we  may,  by  means  of  faith,  take  individually 
that  which  the  gospel  permits  us  to  receive  and  re- 
gard as  our  own ;  and  that  we  can  avail  ourselves 
of  this  common  mterest,  so  as  to  make  it  personally 
our  own,  in  no  other  way. 

God  deals  with  us,  (certainly  for  the  most  part,) 
as  individuals,  and  not  in  masses.  When  he  re- 
quires men  to  repent  of  sin,  to  exercise  gratitude, 
to  love,  and  the  like,  the  requisition  is  obviously 
made  upon  them  as  individuals,  as  separate  from 
and  as  independent  of  others.  It  is  not  possible  to 
conceive  of  any  other  way,  in  which  obedience  to 
the  requisition  can  be  rendered.  Nor  is  it  conceiv- 
able that  the  remedial  effect  of  the  atonement 
should  be  realized  in  any  other  way  than  this. 
How  is  it  possible,  if  I,  in  my  own  person,  have 
suffered  the  wound  of  sin,  that  a  remedy,  which  is 
general  and  does  not  admit  of  any  specific  and 
personal  appropriation,  should  answer  my  purpose  ? 
Furthermore,  in  dying  for  all,  in  other  words,  in 
furnishing  a  common  salvation,  available  to  all  on 
their  acceptance  of  the  same,  Christ  necessarily 
died  for  me  as  an  individual,  since  the  common 
mass  or  race  of  men  is  made  up  of  individuals, 
and  since  I  am  one  of  that  common  mass  or  race. 
And  indeed  we  can  have  no  idea  of  a  community 
or  mass  of  men,  except  as  a  congregation  or  col- 
lection of  separate  persons.  In  dying  for  the  whole 
on  certain  conditions,  he  necessarily,  therefore,  on 
the  same  conditions,  died  for  the  individuals 
composing  that  whole. 


60  APPROPRIATING   FAITH. 

It  would  seem  to  follow,  then,  from  what  has 
been  said,  that  the  faith,  which  we  especially  need, 
is  a  personal  or  appropriating  faith;  a  faith  which 
will  disintegrate  us  from  the  mass,  and  will  enable 
us  to  take  Christ  home  in  all  his  offices  to  our  own 
business  and  our  own  bosoms.  We  must  be  en- 
abled to  say,  if  we  would  realize  the  astonishing 
cleansing  and  healing  efficacy  there  is  in  the  gos- 
pel, of  God  that  he  is  my  God,  of  the  Saviour  that 
he  is  MY  Saviour.  We  must  be  enabled  to  lay 
hold  of  the  blessed  promises,  and  exclaim,  these 
are  the  gift  of  my  Father,  these  are  the  purchase 
of  MY  Savior,  these  are  meant  for  me. 

It  was  thus,  that  patriarchs,  prophets  and  apos- 
tles believed.  This  was  the  faith  of  those  conse- 
crated ones,  of  whom  the  world  was  not  worthy, 
recorded  in  the  eleventh  chapter  of  Hebrews. 
Hear  the  language  of  the  Psalmist,  as  an  illustra- 
tion of  what  is  to  be  found  frequently  in  the 
Scriptures.  How  precise,  how  personal,  how  re- 
mote from  unmeaning  generalities.  "I  will  love 
thee,  O  Lord,  my  strength.  The  Lord  is  my  rock, 
and  my  fortress,  and  my  deliverer;  my  God,  my 
strength,  in  whom  I  will  trust;  my  buckler  and 
the  horn  of  my  salvation,  and  my  high  tower." 
And  it  is  worthy  of  notice,  that  the  first  word  of 
the  Lord's  prayer  has  this  appropriating  character. 
'•Our  Father,  who  art  in  heaven." 

It  is  here,  in  connection  with  this  form  of  faith, 
that  we  find  the  great  and  effective  instrument  of 
progress  and  of  victory  in  the   Interior  Life.     If 


APPROPRIATING   FAITH.  61 

we  possess  an  appropriating  faith,  and  if  our  faith 
be  operative  and  strong  as  it  should  be,  we  shall 
not  only  gain  the  victory  over  the  various  tempta- 
tions which  beset  us  in  the  present  life,  but  shall 
find  ourselves  rapidly  forming  a  new  and  wonder- 
ful acquaintance  with  God.     In  the  present  life  a 
strong  and  operative  appropriating  faith  is  the  key 
which  unlocks  the  mysteries  of  the  divine  nature, 
and  admits  the  soul  to  a  present  and  intuitive  ac- 
quaintance with  its  exceeding  heights  and  depths 
of  purity  and  love.     No  man,  who   has  not   this 
faith  or  has  it  not  in  a  high  degree,  can  be  said  to 
live  in  true  union  with   the  divine  mind,  with  God 
and  in  God.     Hence  we  consider  it  important  to 
say   distinctly,  in  endeavoring  to  sketch   some  of 
the  traits  and  principles   of  the  interior  or  hidden 
life,  that  those  persons  will  have  no  true  and  ex- 
perimental knowledge  of  the  things  which  we   af- 
firm, who  merely  believe  generically  and  not  speci- 
fically ;  in  other  words,  who  believe  for  others  rath- 
er than  themselves  ;  who,  in  the  exercise  of  a  sort 
of  discursive  faith  which  embraces  the   mass  of 
mankind,  cannot  be  said  to  possess  it  individually 
and  personally,  and  for  their  own  soul's  good.     Let 
us,  then,  begin  to  learn  the  great  lesson  of  faith ; 
of  faith  in  its  general  nature ;  of  faith  in  its  vari- 
ous modifications ;  and  particularly  the  indispensa- 
ble lesson  of  appropriating  faith.     Well  has  Martin 
Luther  somewhere  remarked,  that  the  marrow  of 
the  gospel  is  to  be  found  in  the  pronouns  meum  and 

NOSTRUM,  MY  and  OUR. 

Faith  is  better  to  us,  far  better,  than  mere  Intel- 


62  APPROPRIATING   FAITM. 

lectual  illumination;  better  than  any  strength  of 
joyous  emotion ;  better  than  any  thing  and  every 
thing  else,  except  holy  love,  of  which  it  is  the  true 
parent.  The  fallen  angels,  in  their  primitive  state 
of  holiness,  had  illuminations,  great  discoveries  of 
God  and  of  heavenly  things,  and  great  raptures. 
But  when  their  faith  failed,  when  they  ceased  to 
have  perfect  confidence  in  God,  they  fell  never  to 
rise  again.  Our  first  parents  fell  in  the  same  way ; 
because  they  ceased  to  have  confidence  in  God ;  be- 
cause they  ceased  to  believe  him  to  be  what  he 
professed  to  be,  and  that  he  would  do  what  he  de- 
clared he  would  do.  Their  previous  glorious  ex- 
periences, their  illuminations  and  joys,  availed 
nothing,  as  soon  as  unbelief  entered.  Unbelief  in 
them,  and  unbelief  in  their  descendants,  has  ever 
been  the  great,  the  destructive  sin.  And  faith  on 
the  other  hand,  an  implicit  confidence  in  God,  a 
perfect  self-abandonment  into  his  hands,  ever  has 
been,  and  from  the  nature  of  the  case  ever  must  be, 
the  fountain  of  all  other  internal  good,  the  life  of 
all  other  life  in  the  soul. 

And  it  may  be  remarked  here  in  addition  to  Avhat 
has  been  said,  that  God,  in  his  infinite  mercy, 
knowing  the  ruinous  effects  of  unbelief,  seems  de- 
termined to  try  and  to  strengthen  the  belief  of  his 
people  during  their  present  state  of  probation.  His 
word  declares,  that  they  must  walk  by  faith  in  the 
present  life.  All  his  various  Providences  point  in 
the  same  direction.  He,  who  attempts  to  walk  in 
any  other  way,  will  find  himself  inconsistent, 
changeable,  subject  to  unsuitable  elevations  and  de- 


APPROPRIATING    FAITH.  63 

pressions ;  and  in  many  respects  falling  short  of 
what  a  Christian  ought  to  be.  Not  that  faith  is 
the  only  Christian  principle,  or  the  only  Christian 
grace.  By  no  means.  But  it  is  the  fundamental 
principle ;  the  prerequisite  and  preparatory  element ; 
especially  of  that  Love,  which  purifies  the  heart, 
and  is  the  "fulfilling  of  the  law."  And  to  which, 
therefore,  as  another  great  and  indispensable  Chris- 
tian trait,  which,  though  second  in  the  order  of  na- 
ture, is  generally  considered  more  eminently  and 
peculiarly  characteristic  of  the  true  inward  life  than 
any  other,  we  proceed  to  give  a  renewed  attention. 


CHAPTER  SIXTH. 


Of  disinterested  or  pure  Love  in  distinction 
from  interested  Lore. 


It  will  be  recollected,  that  it  was  attempted  to 
be  shown  in  one  of  the  preceding  chapters,  that 
evangelical  holiness  is  to  be  regarded  as  the  same 
thing  with  perfect  love.  The  great  commandment 
is:  "Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord,  thy  God,  with  all 
thy  heart,  and  thy  neighbor  as  thyself."  He  who 
begins  to  love  may  be  said  to  begin  to  be  holy ;  but 
it  is  he,  and  he  only,  in  whom  the  principle  of  love 
has  subdued  that  of  selfishness,  and  who  loves 
with  his  whole  heart,  in  whom  holiness  can  be 
said  to  be  complete  or  entire.  Faith  undoubtedly, 
whether  we  consider  the  subject  scripturally  or 
psychologically,  is  the  foundation  of  love.  The 
views,  which  have  been  presented  in  the  two  last 
chapters,  abundantly  show,  that  faith  is  a  princi- 
ple, antecedent  to  love  in  time,  and  absolutely  in- 
dispensable. But  it  is  love,  nevertheless,  to  which 
God  has  assigned  the  high  honor  of  declaring  it  to 
be  "the  fulfilling  of  the  law."  So  that  the  great 
question,  that  in  comparison  with  which  every  oth- 
er is  of  small  importance,  %yhether  we  are  wholly 


OF  DISINTERESTED  OR  PURE  LOVE.  65 

the  Lord's  and  are  truly  holy,  may  be  resolved  in- 
to another,  viz.  whether  we  arc  perfected  in  love? 

But  we  proceed  to  remark  here,  in  this  position 
of  our  inquiries,  that  there  are  various  kinds  of 
love.  There  are  not  only  differences  in  degree, 
which  separate  perfect  love  from  all  the  weaker 
or  inferior  gradations  ;  but  what  is  of  vital  impor- 
tance, it  is  generally  understood  that  there  are  dif- 
ferences also  in  nature.  For  instance,  we  may  love 
another  merely  for  the  benefits  which  he  has  con- 
ferred upon  us  ;  or  we  may  love  him  for  what  he 
is  IN  AND  OF  HIMSELF.  It  is  the  latter  only,  which  is 
to  be  regarded  as  pure  love,  disinterested  love.  It 
is  our  object  to  show  in  this  chapter,  that  we  must 
not  only  love  God  in  the  highest  degree ;  but  with 
that  sort  of  love,  which  is  in  its  nature  pure  or  dis- 
interested. 

(1.) — In  the  first  place,  we  are  required  to  do 
this  on  natural  principles.  Nature  herself, — in  oth- 
er words,  the  common  feeling  and  common  sense 
of  mankind — teaches  us  what  true  love  is,  in  dis- 
tinction from  interested  or  merely  selfish  love.  If 
we  profess  to  love  a  person,  it  is  the  common  and 
natural  understanding  in  the  case,  that  we  ])rofess 
to  love  him  as  he  is ;  in  other  words,  we  love  him 
for  what  he  is  in  and  of  himself;  and  not  merely 
or  chiefly  for  the  benefits  which  he  may  have  con- 
ferred upon  us.  The .  principles  of  the  philosophy 
of  the  mind,  which  are  drawn  chiefly  from  an  ob- 
servation of  the  feelings  and  conduct  of  men,  do 
not  appear  to  recognize  any  other  true  love  than 
this.  If  my  neighbor,  for  instance,  declares  that 
6* 


65        OF  DISINTERESTED  OR  PURE  LOVE. 

he  loves  me  I  accept  his  declaration  and  rejoice  in 
it;  but  if  I  afterwards  learn,  that  he  loves  me  mere- 
ly in  consequence  of  some  benefits  I  have  conferred 
upon  him,  I  can  truly  say  to  him,  he  is  mistaken 
in  the  whole  matter ;  and  that  he  loves  himself  and 
not  me.  It  seems  to  be  self-  evident,  that  all  true 
love  must  terminate  in  the  object  that  is  beloved ; 
and  not  in  the  person  that  exercises  love.  And 
accordingly  true  love  is  never  egotistical.  In  other 
words  it  shows  no  disposition  to  revert  continually 
to  itself;  and  to  revolve  around  its  own  centre  of 
origin.  On  the  contrary,  true  or  pure  love,  in  dis- 
tinction from  that  which  is  self-interested,  is  diffu- 
sive, generous,  and  self-forgetting.  It  expatriates  it- 
self, as  it  were ;  flying  on  its  beautiful  wings  from  its 
own  heart  to  find  a  home  in  the  heart  of  another. 
And  it  is  accordingly  with  such  love,  a  love  which 
lives  for  another  and  not  for  itself,  a  love  devoid  of 
any  debasing  and  inferior  mixture,  that  we  ought 
to  love  God. 

(2) — In  the  second  place,  while  men  are  evident- 
ly able  to  make  the  distinction  between  these  differ- 
ent kinds  or  forms  of  love,  it  is  apparent  also,  that 
they  respect  and  honor  disinterested  love;  while  they 
have  neither  admiration  nor  esteem,  for  that  form  of 
love  which  is  based  upon  personal  interest  merely. 
Some  ancient  heathen  writers,  Cicero  in  his  treatise 
De  Amicitia,  and  Plato  in  particular,  in  various  pla- 
ces of  his  writings,  speak  in  the  highest  terms  of  that 
friendship  or  afiection,  which  is  disinterested.  Pla- 
to advances  the  sentiment,  that  the  most  divine  trait 
in  man's  nature,  and  that,  without  which  he  can- 


OF  DISINTERESTED  OR  PURE  LOVE.  67 

not  be  happy,  is,  "to  deny  and  go  out  of  himself 
for  love,"  Hence  it  is,  that  ancient  writers  bestow 
such  high  commendation  upon  the  friendship  of  Py- 
thias and  Damon,  who  lived  under  the  tyrant  Dio- 
nysius,  and  were  willing  to  die  for  each  other. 
Each  of  them  seemed  willing  to  forget,  and,  as  it 
were,  to  extinguish  himself,  in  order  that  the  other 
might  live  and  be  happy .  This  was  true  love. 
And  men  are  so  constituted,  that  such  love  always 
commands  their  regard  and  honor.  They  instinc- 
tively perceive,  that  it  has  in  itself  a  divine  element, 
which  necessarily  allies  it  to  the  highest  and  pur- 
est form  of  existence,  whatever  it  may  be  ;  and  that 
it  is  morally  beautiful  and  ever  must  be  so,  in  its 
own  underived  lustre.  And  accordingly  they  speak 
of  it  at  their  firesides  ;  they  crown  it  with  historic 
encomiums ;  they  sing  its  praises  in  poetry ;  while 
all  other  love, as  existing  between  man  and  man, they 
despise  and  trample  under  their  feet.  And  is  it 
reasonable  to  suppose,  that  a  love,  which  men  them- 
selves, darkened  as  they  are  in  their  natural  percep- 
tions, instinctively  condemn  and  reject,  will  be 
acceptable  to  God  1 

(3) — In  the  third  place,  the  character  of  God  is 
so  pure,  so  exalted,  that  the  claims  of  right  and  jus- 
tice cannot  be  satisfied  with  any  homage  which  it 
may  receive,  short  of  pure,  disinterested  love.  God 
contains  in  himself  the  sum  of  all  conceivable  ex- 
cellence. If  there  is  any  being  who  is  to  be  loved 
for  himself,  because  he  contains  in  himself  every 
thing  that  is  lovely,  it  is  God.  If  human  beings 
reject,   with    an  instinctive    contempt,    any  love 


68  OF  DISINTERESTED  OR  PURE  LOVE. 

which  is  found  to  be  based  upon  selfish  considera- 
tions, how  can  God,  who  has  so  much  higher 
claims,  receive  it  1  Upon  this  point  all  language 
fails.  The  tongues  of  angels  cannot  describe  the 
divine  excellence.  It  is  because  God  is  what  He  is, 
and  will  continue  to  be  what  He  has  been,  that  He 
is  the  true  and  only  proper  object  of  the  heart's 
highest  homage.  The  divine  character  stands 
forth,  in  the  view  of  the  universe,  as  the  natural, 
the  appropriate,  and  ever  sufficient  object  of  pure 
love. 

But  the  question  may  be  asked  here  with  some 
degree  of  force.  Is  not  God's  benevolence  towards 
ourselves  to  be  taken  into  view,  and  to  have  some 
effect  upon  our  feelings?  Undoubtedly  it  is.  We 
shall  love  God,  if  we  fulfill  the  divine  requisition  in 
its  entire  extent,  as  he  is,  and  not  otherwise  than 
he  is.  And  this  implies,  that  we  are  to  take  into 
view  every  part  of  his  character  and  of  his  acts. 
It  is  true,  it  is  impossible  to  love  him  with  that 
kind  of  love  which  is  called  pure  love,  for  the  sim- 
ple and  exclusive  reason,  that  he  has  been  good  to 
us.  Pure  love,  which  does  not  confine  itself  to  any 
personal  or  interested  view  of  things,  necessarily 
requires  a  wider  basis  of  movement  than  this.  But 
we  love  him  with  entire  purity  of  love,  because, 
while  He  has  been  good  to  us.  He  has  sustained, 
in  every  other  respect,  the  perfection  of  his  charac- 
ter and  acts.  In  other  words,  there  has  been  a 
diffusion  of  truth,  purity,  and  righteousness  over 
his  whole  character  and  administration  ;  including 
what  he  has  done  for  ourselves  as  well  as  his  acts 


OF  DISINTERESTED  OB  PURE  LOVE.  69 

in  other  respects.  And  it  is  his  character  and  acts, 
as  thus  presented  in  their  entireness,  and  not  in  par- 
tial ghmpses,  which  command  the  homage  of  pure 
love. 

(4.) — In  the  fourth  place,  the  Scriptures  require 
us  to  love  God  with  disinterested  or  pure  love. 
We  say  nothing  here  of  the  great  command,  Thou 
shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart ; 
which  evidently  implies  the  dethronement  and  ex- 
clusion of  selfishness.  There  are  various  other 
passages  of  Scripture,  which,  if  we  rightly  under- 
stand them,  evidently  look  to  this  result,  viz.  that 
we  should  love  Him  for  what  he  is  in  and  of  him- 
self, independently  of  our  own  private  interests. 
Accordingly  it  is  said  in  Luke,  chap.  14:26;  "If 
any  man  come  to  me,  and  hate  not  his  father,  and 
mother,  and  wife,  and  children,  and  brethren,  and 
sisters,  yea,  and  his  own  life  also,  he  cannot  be  my 
disciple."  And  again  in  the  same  chapter,  "So 
likewise,  whosoever  he  be  of  you,  that  forsaketh 
NOT  ALL  THAT  HE  HATH,  he  cauuot  be  my  disciple." 
And  again  it  is  said  in  another  place,  "  Love  your 
enemies ;  bless  them  that  curse  you ;  do  good  to 
them  that  hate  you."  And  perhaps  still  more  di- 
rectly and  appositely  to  the  subject  under  consider- 
ation, the  inquiry  is  made  in  another  passage,  "If 
ye  love  them,  which  love  you,  what  thanks  have 
ye?  for  sinners  also  love  those,  that  love  them. 
And  if  ye  do  good  to  them,  who  do  good  to  you, 
what  thanks  have  ye  1  for  sinners  also  do  even  the 
same."  These  are  the  declarations  and  precepts 
of  the  Savior  himself.    There  are  many  others  ve- 


70  OF  DISINTERESTED  OR  PURE  LOVE. 

ry  similar,  to  be  found  in  different  parts  of  the 
Word  of  God.  As  when,  for  instance,  the  Apostle 
John  says,  "  Love  not  the  world,  neither  the  things 
that  are  in  the  world.  If  any  man  love  the  world,  tlie 
love  of  the  Father  is  not  in  him.'^  How  true  it  is,  then, 
that  charity,  or  the  genuine  love  of  God  and  our 
neighbor,  "seeketh  not  her  own."  And  how  ap- 
propriate the  direction,  "Look  not  every  man  on 
his  own  things  ;  but  every  man  also  on  the  things 
of  others." — We  have  only  to  add,  that  passages, 
such  as  have  now  been  referred  to,  evidently  strike 
at  the  existence  of  that  form  of  love,  if  such  it  can 
be  called,  which  proposes  to  build  itself  on  person^ 
al  or  selfish  considerations. 

But  what  shall  be  done,  it  will  perhaps  be  said 
here,  with  that  passage  of  Scripture,  2d  John,  4:  19, 
which  asserts,  "We  love  God,  because  He  first 
loved  us."  The  difficulty  here,  as  it  seems  to  us, 
is  easily  explicable.  We  admit,  that,  in  our  pres- 
ent condition,  we  never  should  have  loved  God,  if 
his  love  to  us  had  not  been  antecedent.  He  formed 
the  plan  of  salvation  ;  He  sent  his  beloved  Son  to 
make  an  atonement  for  our  sins  ;  He  commissioned 
the  Holy  Spirit  to  open  the  eyes  of  our  understand- 
ings, and  to  enable  us  to  contemplate  his  glory. 
In  a  word,  he  has  put  us  into  a  situation,  utterly 
unattainable  by  our  own  unaided  efibrts,  in  which 
we  can  truly  estimate  his  character  in  its  whole 
extent  of  glory,  not  only  as  possessed  of  infinite 
mercy,  but  of  infinite  justice.  It  is  in  view  of 
such  proceedures  of  the  divine  administration,  that 
we  can  truly  say,"  we  love  God,  because  He  first 


OF  DISINTERESTED  OR  PURE  LOV£.  71 

loved  us."  And  at  the  same  time  can  say  with 
equal  truth,  and  in  a  still  more  important  and  es- 
sential sense,  we  love  Him  for  what  He  is  in  and 
of  himself.  His  previous  love  to  us,  without  which 
we  never  should  have  exercised  any  love  towards 
Him  of  any  kind  whatever,  has  opened  the  way 
for  the  exercise  on  our  part  of  that  pure  and  holy 
love,  which  alone  can  be  truly  acceptable. 

(5.) — We  remark  further,  that  the  nature  of  the 
human  mind  is  such,  being  limited  and  dependent, 
that  it  evidently  requires  an  adequate  centre  of 
love,  on  which  it  can  rest.  No  being,  that  is  weak 
and  dependent,  and  is  conscious,  as  man  is,  of  this 
weakness  and  dependence,  can  find  a  safe  and  sat- 
isfactory centre  in  itself  Accordingly  the  man, 
whose  love  reverts  Avholly  or  chiefly  to  himself,  is 
always  found  to  be  more  or  less  anxious  and  un- 
happ3^  And  if  our  love  fixes  upon  any  being  out 
of  ourselves,  but  short  of  God  and  to  the  exclusion 
of  God,  it  soon  finds  a  weakness  there,  and  becomes 
uneasy;  and  has  a  sort  of  instinctive  consciousness, 
that  the  true  centre  is  not  yet  found.  Hence  if  our 
souls  would  find  rest,  they  can  find  it  only  by  an 
alienation  of  self  and  of  all  subordinate  creatures, 
and  by  union  with  God.  And  what  has  now  been 
said  is  not  only  obvious  in  itself,  but  it  is  believed, 
it  will  be  found  to  be  confirmed  by  the  testimony 
of  those,  who  have  made  the  greatest  advance- 
ment in  holiness.  In  the  transition  they  have 
passed  through  from  the  natural  life  to  the  true  life 
of  God  in  the  soul,  they  have  attached  themselves, 
as  it  was  perhaps  natural  they  should  do,  to  various 


72  OF  DISINTERESTED  OR  PURE  LOVE. 

inferior  objects,  to  outward  forms,  to  ministers,  to 
church  organization  and  ceremonies,  to  christian 
friends  ;  and  have  endeavored  for  a  time  to  find  a 
rest  of  soul  in  these  inferior  things.  But  it  has  al- 
ways eluded  them.  They  have  felt  the  foundation 
shake.  They  have  realized  an  inward  disquietude 
and  weakness,  till,  leaving  every  thing  else,  how- 
ever desirable  in  many  respects  and  for  many  pur- 
poses it  might  be,  they  have  reached  the  strong 
rock  of  salvation  in  God  alone. 

Finally,  it  is  the  nature  of  true  love  to  react  up- 
on and  to  expand  itself.  It  is  satisfied  with  noth- 
ing but  constant  increase.  It  ever  desires  to  love 
more  ;  and  is  ever  enlarging  its  own  capability  of 
loving.  It  can,  therefore,  rest  firmly  and  quietly, 
and  with  entire  satisfaction,  only  in  an  object 
which  has  capacity  and  fullness  enough  to  meet 
this  tendency.  As  in  God  there  is  not  only  infini- 
ty of  being  but  infinite  loveliness,  so  the  principle 
of  love  in  men,  though  it  should  expand  and  in- 
crease itself  through  all  eternity,  will  find  in  Him 
all  its  wants  supplied.  No  other  object  can  supply 
them ;  and  it  seeks  no  other.  But  in  God  it  finds 
all  that  it  needs.  It  has  a  home  there,  like  no  oth- 
er home.  It  has  no  fear  of  failure  in  the  beloved 
object ;  it  has  no  desire  of  change.  It  exults  tri- 
umphantly, and  with  ever  increasing  exultation,  in 
the  midst  of  the  glories  of  the  Infinite  Mind.  This 
is  the  true  point  of  rest;  the  soul's  eternal  rock; 
the  everlasting  centre ;  and  it  can  be  no  Avhere  else. 

In  connection  with  what  has  been  said,  we 
make  a  few  remarks  further,  naturally  flowing  out 


OF  DISINTERESTED  OR  PURE  LOVE.  73 

of  the  subject.  And,  in  the  first  place,  we  observe^ 
it  is  a  bad  sign,  when  Christians  are  thinking  more 
of  themselves  than  of  God ;  in  other  words,  when 
they  are  more  taken  up  with  their  own  joys  and 
sorrows,  than  they  are  with  God's  will.  When 
this  is  ihe  case,  they  have  not  as  yet  learnt  the 
great  lesson  of  self-crucifixion ;  of  doing  and  suf- 
fering the  will  of  another.  "The  cup  which  my 
father  giveth  me  shall  I  not  drink  it  ?  "  These  are 
the  words  of  the  Savior ;  and  they  convey  deep 
and  precious  meaning.  When  we  are  fully  deliv- 
ered from  the  influence  of  selfish  considerations, 
and  have  become  conformed  to  the  desires  and  pur- 
poses of  the  Infinite  Mind,  we  shall  drink  the  cup, 
and  drink  it  cheerfully,  whatever  it  may  be.  In  a 
word,  we  shall  necessarily  be  submissive  and  hap- 
py in  all  trials,  and  in  every  change  and  diversity 
of  situation.  Not  because  we  are  seeking  happi- 
ness as  a  distinct  object,  or  thinking  of  happiness 
as  a  distinct  object,  but  because  the  glorious  will  of 
Him  whom  our  soul  loves  supremely,  is  accom- 
plished in  us.  To  the  purified  mind,  the  sorrows 
and  joys  of  this  life,  when  contemplated  in  the  light 
of  God's  providences,  are  alike.  Whatever  God 
sends  is  welcome  to  it.  Hence  we  say,  it  shows  a 
state  of  mind  short  of  evangelical  perfection,  when 
we  think  more  of  ourselves  than  we  do  of  God, 
and  more  of  our  own  happiness  than  we  do  of  the 
divine  glory. 

We  remark,  in  the  second  place,  that  in  the  doc- 
trine of  pure  love,  existing  in  the  highest  degree, 
we  find  the  true  basis  of  Christian  harmony.  There 
7 


74  Of  DISINTERESTED  OR  PURE  LOVE. 

never  can  be  harmony  among  Christians  without 
some  common  centre  of  attraction.  Without  such 
a  centre  their  principles  of  movement  will  vary, 
and  they  will  be  exposed  to  perpetual  conflicts. 
What  a  delightful  prospect  would  be  presented,  if 
all  Christians  could  meet  in  this  great  centre! 
W^hat  unity  of  purpose  !  What  mingling  of  affec- 
tion !  It  is  party  and  selfish  interests  which  divide. 
A  common  interest  unites.  God,  being  loved  with 
perfect  love,  and  for  his  own  sake,  makes  all  hearts 
one.  It  is  then,  that  we  all  drink,  and  are  all  nour- 
ished, at  the  same  fountain.  We  unite  in  him  and 
rejoice  in  him,  as  a  principle  of  life-giving  inspira- 
tion, having  a  common  and  universal  efficacy,  op- 
erating as  the  soul  of  each  separate  soul  and  the 
life  of  each  separate  life,  and  thus  making  what 
was  before  separate  and  self-interested  but  one  life 
and  one  soul  in  himself 

We  observe  again,  that  we  find  in  this  doctrine 
the  true  principle,  not  only  of  union  among  Cliris- 
tians  in  this  life,  but  of  the  permanent  moral  har- 
mony of  the  universe.  The  universe  must  have  a 
centre.  And  it  has.  And  that  centre  is  God.  But 
there  cannot  be  universal  harmony,  notwithstand- 
ing, unless  all  hearts  are  drawn  to  that  centre,  as 
the  supreme  object  of  attraction  and  delight.  This 
simple  principle  of  pure  love,  always  terminating 
in  God  as  its  centre,  and  as  its  supreme  object,  ex- 
cludes every  jarring  sound,  and  establishes  univer- 
sal concord.  And  as  it  is  exercised  without  dis- 
trust and  without  fear,  attaching  itself  to  an  object 
whose  perfections  never  change,  it  naturally  brings 


OF  DISINTERESTED  OR  PURE  LOVE.  /  iJ 

substantial  joy ;  joy  full  as  its  fountain,  which  is 
God,  and  lasting  as  his  existence,  which  is  eter- 
nity. 

Finally,  in  the  opposite  of  pure  love,  that  is  to 
say,  in  selfishness,  as  it  developes  itself  in  a  future 
life,  we  find  the  great  principle  of  moral  discord, 
and  also  that,  which  constitutes  the  essential  basis 
of  the  misery  of  hell.  The  misery  of  hell  is  not  an 
accident ;  but  just  to  the  extent  it  is  experienced  at 
all,  it  is  a  permanent  and  necessary  truth.  Like 
everything  else  it  has  its  philosophy.  Its  leading 
element  is  love,  terminating  in  self  as  the  supreme 
object;  in  other  words,  it  is  supreme  selfishness. 
This  principle,  wherever  it  exists  and  wherever  it 
is  transferred,  necessarily  carries  with  it  the  grand 
element  of  the  world  of  woe.  A  being,  who  is  su- 
premely selfish,  is  necessarily  miserable.  The  re- 
sult does  not  depend  upon  choice  or  volition,  but 
upon  the  nature  of  things.  Instead  of  the  principle 
of  unity,  which  tends  to  oneness  of  purpose  with 
other  beings,  and  naturally  leads  to  happiness,  he 
has  within  him  the  principle  of  exclusion  and  of  eter- 
nal separation.  In  its  ultimate  operation,  if  it  is  per- 
mitted permanently  to  exist,  it  necessarily  drives 
him  from  every  thing  else,  and  wedges  him  closer 
and  closer  in  the  compressed  circumference  of  his 
own  personality.  So  that  he  is  not  only  at  vari- 
ance with  God  and  with  all  holy  beings ;  but  he  is 
not  at  unity  even  with  the  devils  themselves.  The 
principle  of  love,  terminating  in  self  as  the  supreme 
object  and  exclusive  of  other  objects,  in  other 
words,   supreme  selfishness,  makes  him  at    war 


76  OF  DISINTERESTED  OR  PURE  LOVE. 

with  all  other  beings  ;  and  it  is  impossible  for  him  to 
be  happy  but  in  their  destruction,  which  is  also 
an  impossibility.  This  is  the  true  hell  and  ever- 
lasting fire. 


"  Oh  Love  !  I  languish  at  thy  stay ! 

"  I  pine  for  thee  with  lingering  smart ! 
"  "Weary  and  faint  through  long  delay ; 

"  When  wilt  thou  come  into  my  heart  ? 
"  From  sin  and  sorrow  set  me  free, 
"  And  swallow  up  my  soul  in  thee ! 

"  Come,  Oh  my  comfort  and  delight ! 

"  My  strength  and  health,  my  shield  and  sun, 
' "  My  boast,  and  confidence,  and  might, 

"  My  joy,  my  glory,  and  my  crown ; 
"  My  Gospel  hope,  my  calling's  prize  j 

"  My  tree  of  life,  my  paradise. 


CHAPTER  SEVENTH. 
On  the  Love  of  our  Neighbor  and  of  ourselves. 

We  proceed  now  to  the  consideration  of  a  sub- 
ject, naturally  flowing  out  of  that  of  the  foregoing 
Chapter,  viz.  that  of  love  to  our  neighbor,  and  of 
created  and  inferior  beings  in  general.  And  the 
first  proposition,  which  we  lay  down  is  this.  If 
our  love  to  God  be  disinterested  and  pure,  and  at 
the  same  time  exist  in  a  degree  suitable  to  the  ob- 
ject, viz.  in  the  highest  degree,  then  all  other  love, 
and  the  love  of  all  other  creatures  will  be  entirely 
subordinate  to  this,  and  will  exist  only  in  relation 
to  it.  If  we  possess  pure  and  perfect  love  to  God, 
we  shall  perfectly  sympathize  with  Him  in  his  love 
towards  whatever  He  has  made;  and  shall,  ac- 
cording to  our  capacity,  love  just  as  He  does.  Our 
love  will  naturally,  and  perhaps  we  may  say  of 
necessity,  flow  in  the  same  channel.  And  whatev- 
er things  He  takes  an  interest  in,  whether  material 
or  immaterial,  whether  of  greater  or  less  conse- 
quence, will  possess  precisely  the  same  interest  for 
us,  so  far  as  we  possess  an  equal  knowledge  of 
their  nature  and  an  equal  capacity  of  love.  The 
devout  recollection  of  the  great  Architect  will  iin^ 


7S  ON  THE  LOVE  OF  OUR  NEIGHDOR 

part  a  degree  of  sacredness  and  value  to  whatever 
is  the  work  of  his  hands.  In  his  woods,  his  rivers, 
his  mountains,  his  burnished  sky  and  his  boundless 
ocean,  we  shall  see  the  indistinct  reflection  of  him- 
self, and  join  to  our  perception  of  beauty  in  the  ob- 
ject a  still  higher  admiration  of  the  wisdom  and 
goodness  of  its  Maker.  We  shall  recognize  in  the 
birds  of  the  air,  in  the  cattle  of  the  verdant  hills, 
and  even  in  the  heedless  insect  that  hums  around 
our  path,  the  agency  of  Him,  who  doeth  all  things 
well.  And  we  shall  feel  here,  as  in  other  things, 
that  we  can  never  be  indifferent  to  any  thing, 
which  our  Heavenly  Father  has  made  and  takes 
an  interest  in. 

As  we  rise  in  the  scale  of  beings  to  those,  which 
have  a  rational  and  moral  nature,  to  those,  who 
are  kindred  in  race  and  are  perhaps  kindred  by  the 
nearer  relationship  of  family  ties,  we  shall  experi- 
ence the  exercise  of  love  on  the  same  principle. 
We  do  not  deny,  that  we  shall  be  susceptible  of  a 
natural  love.  We  know  that  we  shall  be.  But 
what  we  mean  to  say  is,  that  our  love,  whether 
purely  natural  and  founded  on  the  relations  we 
sustain  to  the  object,  or  whether  an  acquired  love 
and  resting  wholly  upon  the  deliberate  perception 
of  its  amiable  qualities,  will  be  perfectly  subordi- 
nate to  the  love  of  God  and  will  be  regulated  by  it. 
It  would  perhaps  be  a  concise  expression  of  the  fact 
to  say,  whatever  specific  modifications  our  love  may 
assume  under  the  operation  of  natural  causes,  that 
we  shall  love  all  things  in  and  for  God.  And  if 
we  are  required  in  the  first  instance  to  love  God 


AND    OF   OURSELVES.  79 

with  ALL  our  heart,  it  does  not  clearly  appear  when 
we  fulfill  the  divine  requisition,  how  we  can  love 
our  neighbor  or  any  thing  else  in  any  other  way 
than  this. 

"But  what  is,"  says  a  certain  writer,  "loving  any 
creature  only  in  and  for  God?  It  is  when  we  love  it 
only,  as  it  is  God's  work,  image,  and  delight]  when  we 
love  it  merely  as  it  is  God's,  and  belongs  to  Him. 
This  is  loving  it  in  God.  And  when  all  that  we 
wish,  intend,  or  do  to  it,  is  done  from  a  love  of  God, 
for  the  honor  of  God,  and  in  conformity  to  the  will 
of  God.  This  is  loving  it  ^for  God.  This  is  the 
ONE  LOVE,  that  is,  and  must  be  the  spirit  of  all  crea- 
tures, that  live  united  to  God.  Now  this  is  no  spec- 
ulative refinement  or  fine  spun  fiction  of  the  brain ; 
but  the  simple  truth,  a  first  law  of  nature,  and  a 
necessary  bond  of  union  between  God  and  the  crea- 
ture. The  creature  is  not  in  God,  is  a  stranger  to 
him,  has  lost  the  life  of  God  in  itself,  whenever  its 
love  does  not  thus  begin  and  end  in  God."  * 

And  in  this  way,  under  the  great  law  of  supreme 
love  to  God,  we  may  not  only  love,  as  we  ought  to, 
our  friends,  our  relatives,  and  our  fellow  men  uni- 
versally ;  but,  under  the  same  law  and  in  the  same 
manner,  we  may  love  ourselves,  and  may  love  and 
seek  our  own  happiness.  God  is  willing  that  we 
should.  He  has  made  us  so  that  we  cannot  do  oth- 
erwise. He  requires  us  to  do  it.  But  what  is  our 
happiness?  It  is  to  love  God  with  all  our  heart,  and 
to  hold  all  other  love  in  subordination ;  or  what 
seems  to  be  the  same  thing,  to  love  God  supremely, 
and  to  exercise  and  measure  all  other  love  with  a 


*  Law's  Spirit  of  Prayer,  Ft.  I.  Ch.  II. 


80         ON  THE  LOVE  OF  OUR  NEIGHBOR 

reference  to  that  supreme  and  perfect  standard  of 
measurement.  It  is  to  feel  the  full  power  of  that 
divine  attraction,  which  silently  draws  us  from  the 
circumference  to  the  centre  ;  it  is  to  experience  the 
restoration  of  the  broken  bond  of  union  with  the  Di- 
vine Mind ;  to  be  lost,  as  it  were,  in  the  great  ocean 
of  the  infinite  fullness.  In  other  words,  our  happi- 
ness is  to  renounce  ourselves  entirely,  in  order  that 
God,  in  whom  alone  is  all  goodness,  may  resume 
that  throne  in  the  heart,  from  which  He  has  been 
banished.  And  accordingly  we  love  ourselves  and 
our  own  happiness,  even  our  frail  bodies  as  well  as 
our  immortal  souls,  because  God  made  us ;  because 
He  takes  care  of  us  and  desires  our  happiness  and 
recognizes  the  propriety  of  our  exercising  the  same 
desire:  because  He  has  designed  us,under  the  opera- 
tions of  his  grace,  to  be  mirrors  of  his  own  image 
and  the  temples  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  and  not  because 
we  have  a  desire,  or  could  for  a  moment  have  a 
desire,  a  purpose,  or  a  love  adverse  to,  or  even  not 
coincident  with  his.  So  that  all  subordinate  love 
of  his  creatures,  whether  it  have  relation  to  our- 
selves or  others,  may  truly  and  properly  resolve  it- 
self into  the  love  of  God. 

(I.) — In  connection  with  what  has  been  said,  we 
may  properly  make  one  or  two  remarks.  The  first 
is,  that  this  doctrine  makes  the  exercise  of  love  to 
our  neighbors,  in  the  same  degree  in  which  we  love 
ourselves,  an  easy  thing.  We  love  ourselves,  only 
as  we  love  God.  In  other  words,  if  we  love  God 
with  perfect  love,  the  love  of  ourselves  will  be  sub- 
ordinated and  restricted  by  the   controlling  desire, 


AND    OF   OURSELVES.  81 

THAT  God  may  be  glorified  in  us.  We  can  seek 
nothing,  desire  nothing,  love  nothing  for  ourselves, 
but  what  is  subordinate  to  and  has  a  tendency  to 
God's  glory.  So  that  the  love  of  self,  whatever  it 
may  be,  is  merged  and  purified  in  the  encircling 
and  absorbing  love  of  God.  The  love  of  our  neigh- 
bor is  properly  measured,  on  the  principles  of  the 
Scriptures,  by  the  love  of  ourselves.  And  as  we 
can  love  ourselves  only  in  subordination  to  God's 
will  and  glory ;  so  we  can  love  our  neighbor  only 
in  the  same  manner  and  the  same  degree.  In  oth- 
er words,  both  the  love  of  ourselves  and  of  our 
neighbor  are  only  rills  and  drops  from  the  mighty 
waters  of  love  to  God.  And  on  the  supposition, 
that  we  are  filled  with  the  love  of  God,  the  love  of 
our  neighbor  flows  out  from  the  great  fountain  of 
divine  love,  in  the  various  channels  and  in  the  de- 
gree which  God  chooses,  as  easily  and  as  natural- 
ly, as  a  stream  flows  from  its  lake  in  the  moun- 
tains over  the  meadows  and  valleys  below.  There 
is  no  need  of  effort.  Only  let  God  in  his  provi- 
dence furnish  the  occasion;  and  in  a  moment  the 
heart  will  open,  and  the  streams  will  gush  out. 
Hence  the  remarks,  which  are  found  in  various  pla- 
ces of  the  writings  of  Augustine,  Thauler,  and 
Fenelon  to  this  effect,  (and  some  eminent  theologi- 
ans of  this  country  appear  decidedly  to  favor  this 
view,)  that  the  love  of  God  is  capable  of  animating 
and  regulating  all  those  affections,  which  we  owe 
to  his  creatures ;  that  the  true  manner  of  loving 
our  neighbor,  is  to  love  him  in   and  for  God ;  and 


82         ON  THE  LOVE  OF  OUR  NEIGHBOR 

that  we  never  love  him  so  purely  and  so  much, 
as  when  we  love  him  in  this  way. 

(2.) — We  observe  further,  that  the  love  of  our 
neighbor,  flowing  from  this  divine  source,  and 
equaUing  in  degree  the  love  of  ourselves,  meets 
and  adapts  itself,  with  a  wonderful  flexibility,  to 
all  the  ordinary  occasions  and  demands  of  life.  It 
leads  us  to  the  humble  residences  of  the  poor,  and 
the  chambers  of  the  sick.  And  while  it  sympa- 
thizes in  the  sufferings,  it  also  rejoices  in  the  con- 
solations of  others,  just  as  it  would  in  its  own, 
"Such  souls,"  says  Fenelon,  "as  are  really  de- 
tached from  themselves,  like  the  saints  in  heaven, 
regard  the  mercies  distributed  to  others,  with  the 
same  complacency  as  those  they  receive  them- 
selves ;  for,  esteeming  themselves  as  nothing,  they 
love  the  good  pleasure  of  God,  the  riches  of  his 
grace,  and  the  glory  He  derives  from  the  sanclifi- 
cation  of  others,  as  much  as  that  which  He  derives 
from  them.  All  is  then  equal,  for  the  personal  self 
or  ME  is  lost.  The  me  is  no  more  me,  [that  is,  rela- 
tively to  the  exercise  of  the  affections  on  their  ap- 
propriate occasions,]  than  another  person.  It  is  God 
alone,  that  is  all  in  all.  It  is  God,  whom  they 
love  and  admire  ;  and  who,  in  the  exercise  of  this 
disinterested  or  pure  love,  causes  all  the  joy  of 
their  hearts." 

(3.)  We  remark  again,  that,  on  the  principles 
which  have  been  laid  down,  we  see  how  we  may 
fulfill  the  command  of  our  Savior  to  love  our  ene- 
mies, to  bless  them  that  curse  us,  and  to  do  good 
to  them  that  hate  and  persecute  us.     Instead  of 


AND    OF    OURSELVES.  83 

being  a  very  difficult  thing  as  is  commonly  sup- 
posed, and  as  it  would  undoubtedly  be  on  natural 
principles,  it  becomes  easy,  because,  in  the  lan- 
guage of  Francis  De  Sales,  "  We  cannot  love  God 
as  we  ought,  without  adopting  his  sentiments  and 
LOVING  WHAT  He  LOVES."  Now  wc  kuow  that  God 
loves  those  Avho  do  not  love  Him.  He  loved  us, 
even  when  we  were  his  enemies.  He  so  loved  a 
rebellious  and  disobedient  world,  as  to  give  his  Son 
to  die  for  it.  And  if  we  are  in  the  same  spirit,  lov- 
ing only  what  He  loves  and  hating  what  He  hates, 
we  shall  find  no  difficulty  in  loving  our  enemies, 
and  in  praying  for  those  who  "  despitefully  entreat 
us,"  No  matter  how  unlovely  they  may  be  in  them- 
selves, no  matter  how  cruel  and  unjust  their  treat- 
ment may  be  to  us,  the  consideration,  that  our 
Heavenly  Father  loves  them  and  requires  us  to 
love  them,  lays  all  things  even,  and  opens  the  full 
channels  of  the  heart,  as  if  there  were  no  obstacles 
existing. 

Finally,  Avhen  we  love  our  fellow-men  in  this 
way,  we  love  with  a  perseverance  and  constancy, 
which  could  not  be  realized  under  other  circum- 
stances. Our  love  is  not  subject  to  those  breaks 
and  variations,  which  characterize  it  when  it  is 
based  upon  the  uncertainties  of  the  creature,  instead 
of  the  immutability  of  the  divine  will .  On  the  con- 
trary, it  continually  flows  on  and  flows  on,  wheth- 
er it  meets  with  any  favorable  return  or  not,  par- 
taking in  no  small  measure,  of  the  unchangeable- 
ness  of  the  divine  nature. 


CHAPTER  EIGHTH. 


On  the  Distinction  between  love  and  joy. 


It  would  seem  from  the  views,  which  have  been 
taken,  that  perfect  love  is  to  be  regarded,  on  the 
principles  of  the  Gospel,  as  essentially  the  same 
thing,  or  rather  as  precisely  the  same  thing  with 
sANCTiFicATioN  or  HOLINESS.  Certain  it  is,  that  those, 
who  are  perfected  in  love,  whatever  may  be  their 
infirmities  and  errors,  and  however  important  and 
proper  it  may  be  for  them  to  make  constant  ap- 
plication to  the  blood  of  the  atonement  both  for  the 
forgiveness  of  the  infirmities  of  the  present  and  of 
tlie  infirmities  and  transgressions  of  the  past,  are 
spoken  of  and  are  treated  in  the  New  Testament, 
as  accepted,  sanctified,  or  holy  persons.  Those, 
therefore,  who  are  truly  and  without  any  self  inter- 
ested reflections  seeking  perfection  of  love,  may 
very  properly  be  considered  as  seeking  holiness. 
But  it  is  proper  to  say  here,  that  some  degree  of  ob- 
servation and  inquiry  hac  given  occasion  to  the  re* 
mark,  that  some  persons,  who  are  truly  seeking 
the  sanctifying  power  of  assured  faith  and  perfect- 
ed love,  and  who  suppose  that  they  are  seeking  it 
in  the  right  way,  have  nevertheless  committed  the 


ON  THE  DISTINCTION  BETWEEN  LOVE  AND  JOY.        85 

dangerous  error  of  confounding  joy  with  love ;  and 
are  in  fact,  without  being  fully  aware  of  it,  seek- 
ing after  a  state  of  highly  joyful  and  rapturous  ex- 
citement, instead  of  true  love.  It  is  to  some  mis- 
take of  this  kind  that  the  pious  Lady  Maxwell 
probably  has  reference,  when  she  says,  "The 
Lord  has  taught  me,  that  it  is  by  faith,  and  not  joy 
I  must  live."  It  seems  tome,  therefore,  important, 
in  order  to  understand  the  true  foundation  of  the 
christian  life,  to  draw  the  distinction  between  joy 
and  love.  This  is  the  object  of  the  present  chap- 
ter. 

(1 .) — In  endeavoring  to  point  out  the  distinction 
between  joy  and  love,  which,  it  must  be  admitted, 
cannot  be  satisfactorily  done  without  careful  con- 
sideration, we  proceed  to  remark  in  the  first  place, 
that  the  distinction  is  very  properly  made  in  philo- 
sophical writers  between  Emotions  and  Desires  ; 
and  that  joy  is  to  be  regarded  as  an  emotion,  rath- 
er than  a  desire.  Regarded  as  an  emotive  state  of 
the  mind,  joy,  like  the  emotions  generally,  natur- 
ally terminates  in  itself  That  is  to  say,  a  person 
may  be  the  subject  of  highly  raised  joyful  emotions, 
and  at  the  same  time  may  remain  inactive.  He 
may  be  wholly  occupied  with  the  extatic  movement 
of  his  own  feelings,  and  be  destitute  of  thought, 
feeling,  and  action  for  others. — But  the  leading 
characteristic  of  love,  that  in  particular  which  dis- 
tinguishes it  from  mere  joy,  is  the  element  of  desire. 
It  is  the  nature  of  love,  as  it  is  the  nature  of  every 
thing  else  of  which  de'sire  is  the  prominent  element, 
not  to   stop  or   terminate   in  itself :  but  to  lead  to 


86  ON  THE  DISTINCTION 

something  else.  And,  furthermore,  love,  like  oth- 
er benevolent  affections,  is  not  only  active  in  rela- 
tion to  others ;  but  is  active  for  the  good  of  others. 
We  have  here,  therefore,  an  important  ground  of 
distinction.  If  Christians  were  filled  with  joyful 
feelings  merely,  they  might,  being  destitute  of  oth- 
er principles  of  action,  remain  slothful  at  their  own 
firesides,  and  see  the  world  perish  in  their  sins. 
But  love,  on  the  contrary,  is  sweetly  and  powerful- 
ly impulsive ;  and  constrains  us,  especially  if  it  be 
strong,  to  do  good  in  every  possible  way  to  our 
fellow  men.  And  hence  the  expression  of  the 
Apostle,  "the  love  of  Christ  constraineth  us." 

(2.) —  In  the  second  place,  joy  may  be  founded 
on  selfish  considerations.  But  love,  certainly  that 
which  God  recognizes  and  requires,  that  disinter- 
ested or  pure  love  of  which  we  have  already  given 
some  account,  is  always  benevolent.  It  is  some- 
times the  case,  in  consequence  of  a  wrong  position 
of  our  minds,  that  we  may  even  rejoice  in  the  evil 
or  suffering  of  others.  We  may  be  very  well  pleas- 
ed, very  happy,  when  we  see  them  perplexed,  mis- 
represented, and  injured.  But  it  does  not  appear, 
how  we  can  at  such  times  be  said  to  love  them. 
Joy,  therefore,  may  go  where  love  will  not  follow. 
Joy  may  have  a  field  of  action  which  love  has  not. 
Accordingly  we  can  conceive  of  the  devils  rejoic- 
ing. They  may  rejoice,  and  undoubtedly  do  re- 
joice in  the  misery  of  each  other.  It  is  their  nature. 
Evil  is  their  good.  But  we  cannot  conceive  how 
they  can  love.  * 

(3.) — We  may  remark,  in  the  third  place,  that 


BETWEEN  LOVE  AND  JOY.  87 

in  love  there  is  always  something  elevating,  enno- 
bling, and  purifying  to  the  soul.  It  is  the  great 
source  and  fountain  of  generous  and  exalted  ac- 
tions. It  is  the  secret  and  powerful  spring  of  re- 
ligious magnanimity,  of  holy  heroism.  But  the 
tendency  of  joy  is,  in  itself  considered  and  inde- 
pendently of  other  principles,  to  create  in  the  mind 
a  species  of  spiritual  sensuality.  It  leads  the  soul, 
(at  least  such  is  its  tendency,  unless  accompanied 
by  other  principles,)  to  sit  quietly  and  inactively 
in  the  easy  chair  of  its  own  gratification.  It 
thinks  too  much  of  itself,  to  have  the  power  of 
thinking  much  of  others.  Its  tendency,  therefore, 
in  itself  considered  and  independently  of  other  principles 
of  action,  is  to  turn  the  mind  off  from  the  highest 
good.  It  may  even  have  the  effect,  (and  it  is  be- 
lieved that  the  experience  of  some  Christians  on 
this  point  Avill  confirm  the  statement,)  to  remove 
the  mind,  in  some  degree,  from  God  himself,  and 
from  Christ,  and  from  the  Holy  Ghost,  upon  whom 
it  ought  always  to  rest.  And  this,  certainly,  is  a 
result  which  is  greatly  to  be  deplored. 

(4.) — It  will  be  recollected,  in  the  fourth  place, 
that  a  leading  characteristic  of  love,  as  already  has 
been  remarked,  is  desire  ;  a  state  of  mind,  which 
may  very  properly  be  distinguished  from  an  emo- 
tion. Accordingly  we  can  never  love  an  object, 
without  desiring  the  good  of  that  object.  In  the 
exercise  of  love  we  carefully  notice  those  occasions, 
on  which  we  may  have  it  in  our  power  to  promote 
the  good  or  happiness  of  the  beloved  object ;  and 
are  faithful  to  improve  them.     When  our  love  is 


88  ON    THE  DISTINCTION 

decided  and  strong,  we  are  oftentimes  much  more 
solicitous  to  secure  the  welfare  and  happiness  of 
the  beloved  person  than  our  own.  The  state  of 
mind,  as  already  intimated,  is  not  quiescent,  but 
impulsive  ;  it  impels  to  action  ;  and  not  to  selfish, 
but  benevolent  action.  Observe  the  love  of  a  pa- 
rent to  a  child.  Perhaps  the  child  may  be  deform- 
ed in  body  or  mind,  or  both.  There  may  be  noth- 
ing especially  attractive  either  in  its  person,  con- 
duct, or  prospects.  And  yet  the  heart  of  the  pa- 
rent constantly  goes  out  towards  the  child  in  acts 
of  kindness.  And  the  same  may  be  observed,  in  a 
multitude  of  cases,  on  the  part  of  the  child  towards 
the  parent.  Some  parents  are  brutish  and  cruel  in 
their  conduct;  their  hearts  are  hardened,  perhaps 
by  intemperance  ;  their  natural  aifections  are  thus 
blunted ;  but  their  children,  notwithstanding  this, 
love  them,  watch  over  them,  and  do  a  multitude  of 
acts,  which  could  result  only  from  love.  It  is  in 
accordance  with  these  views,  that  we  find  mention 
in  Scripture  of  those  who  received  the  word  of  God 
with  joy  ;  and  yet  soon  withered  away.  And  why  1 
Because,  with  all  their  joy,  they  had  not  the  abid- 
ing root  of  LOVE.  They  were  the  subjects  of  a  tem- 
porary pleasurable  excitement ;  but  had  never  ex- 
perienced a  new  direction  and  bent  of  the  heart. 
True  love,  clinging  to  the  object  of  the  affections,  is 
permanent ;  joy  is  often  evanescent. 

(5.) — We  remark  further,  as  a  natural  conse- 
quence of  what  has  been  said,  that  the  love  of 
God,  as  it  exists  in  the  minds  of  those  who  are  his 
devoted  followers,  always  inquires  after  his  will. 


BETWEEN    LOVE    AND    JOY.  89 

It  does  not  ask  after  ease,  pleasure,  reward ;  nor, 
on  the  other  hand,  does  it  ask  after  trial,  suffering, 
and  contempt;  it  merely  asks  after  the  Father's 
will.  Its  language  is  that  of  the  Savior,  when  he 
says,  "  Lo,  I  come  to  do  thy  will,  O  GodJ^  And  as 
in  common  life  we  think  much  of  a  person  that  is 
beloved,  and  desire  his  favor  and  approbation ;  so 
in  regard  to  God,  if  we  truly  love  him,  he  will  be 
very  much  in  our  thoughts,  and  his  approbation 
and  favor  will  be  to  us  of  great  price.  If  he  is  the 
highest  object  of  our  love,  we  shall  desire  no  high- 
er happiness  than  that  of  constant  communion  with 
him,  and  of  being  always  united  to  him  by  one- 
ness of  will.  Thus  we  may  be  said  to  be  in  him, 
and  he  in  us;  and  that  eternal  rest  of  the  soul, 
which  constitutes  the  true  heaven,  will  be  com- 
menced here.  Then  we  shall  have  the  true  joy, 
calm,  deep,  unchangeable.  Love  goes  before ;  joy 
comes  after.  Love  is  the  principle  of  action  ;  joy 
is  the  reward.  In  the  spiritual  tree  of  life,  love  is 
the  nutritive  sap,  the  permeating  and  invigorating 
power,  that  flows  through  the  body  and  the  soul 
of  man ;  joy  is  one  of  its  beautiful  fruits  and  flow- 
ers. If,  therefore,  love  is  strong,  joy  will  never  fail 
us.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  if  love  is  wanting, 
there  can  be  no  joy,  except  that  joy  of  the  world, 
which  worketh  death. 

In  view  of  what  has  been  said,  one  or  two  re- 
marks may  be  made.  And  the  first  is,  if  we  are 
truly  sanctified  to  the  Lord,  in  other  words,  if  we 
love  God  with  all  our  hearts,  our  course  as  Chris- 
tians will  be  a  consistent  and  stable  one.     Our  rule 


90        ON  THE  DISTINCTION  BETWEEN  LOVE  AND  JOY. 

of  action  will  be  the  will  of  God ;  our  principle  of 
action  will  be  the  love  of  God.  And  as  the  will  of 
God  is  fixed,  and  is  made  known  to  us  in  various 
ways,  especially  in  his  holy  Word,  we  shall  endeavor 
to  fulfill  it  at  all  times  humbly  and  faithfully,  with- 
out regard  to  those  temporary  and  changing  feel- 
ings which  too  often  perplex  the  religious  life. 

It  may  be  remarked  further,  in  conclusion,  that 
in  the  state  of  mind  which  has  been  spoken  of,  we 
shall  not  fail  of  any  consolation  which  is  needful 
for  us.  It  belongs  to  the  very  nature  of  desire,  that, 
when  the  desire  is  gratified,  we  are  more  or  less 
happy.  Accordingly  in  exercising  love  to  God,  the 
leading  element  of  which  is  desire,  and  in  doing 
and  suffering  his  holy  will,  in  accordance  with  such 
desire,  we  cannot  be  otherwise  than  happy  in  a  con- 
siderable degree.  If  we  seek  joy  or  happiness  as  an 
ultimate  object,  we  cannot  fail,  on  religious  princi- 
ples, to  miss  of  it.  If,  under  the  promptings  of  love, 
we  seek  merely  to  do  and  suffer  the  will  of  God, 
we  shall  certainly,  except  in  those  cases,  where 
God,  by  a  special  act  of  sovereignty,  withdraws 
consolation  in  order  to  try  ourjaith,  possess  all  that 
consolation,  which  will  be  needful.  And  in  the 
case  which  has  just  been  mentioned,  if  our  faith, 
still  trusting  in  the  beloved  object,  sustains  the 
terrible  shock  of  apparent  desertion,  (as  when 
our  Savior  exclaimed,  "My  God,  My  God,  why 
hast  thou  forsaken  me  ?  ")we  shall  soon  find  abun- 
dant consolation  returning. 


CHAPTER  NINTH. 


On  the  distinction  between  natural  and  spiritual  Joy. 


We  have  endeavoured  in  the  preceding  chapter 
to  point  out  the  distinction  between  love  and  joy ; 
a  distinction,  not  very  obvious  at  first  sight,  but 
which  really  exists  and  is  important  to  be  made. 
But  it  is  proper  to  add  here,  that  the  views  of  the 
chapter  may  be  somewhat  aided,  and  perhaps 
modified  in  their  practical  application,  in  connection 
with  a  distinction,  which  yet  remains  to  be  made, 
and  which  may  very  properly  be  made,  between 
NATURAL  joy  and  spiritual  joy.  It  is  true,  that 
gracious  or  spiritual  joy  is  not  to  be  confounded 
with  Love,  any  more  than  natural  joy  is.  In  both 
cases,  the  distinction  between  love  and  joy  is  a  real 
and  permanent  one.  But  then  there  remains  the 
additional  view,  which  will  help  to  throw  further 
light  upon  the  subject  before  us,  that  gracious  or 
holy  joy  differs,  in  some  of  its  aspects,  from  natu- 
ral joy. 

We  proceed,  then,  to  remark,  in  the  first  place, 
that  natural  joy  and  spiritual  joy  are  difierent  in 
their  origin.  Natural  joy,  which  is  sometimes  de- 
nominated "the  joy  of  the  world",  arises  from  nat- 


92  ON  THE  DISTINCTION  BETWEEN 

ural  causes;  from  physical  or  worldly  good;  from 
health,  property,  worldly  influence,  the  indulgences 
of  sense ;  from  such  causes,  in  a  word,  as  we  might 
suppose  to  exist  and  to  produce  joy  within  us,  if  we 
had  no  perception  of  a  God  and  no  knowledge  of 
religion.  Spiritual  or  gracious  joy,  which  is  spiritual 
or  gracious  in  its  origin,  arises  from  the  knowledge 
of  spiritual  objects,  from  the  discharge  of  spiritual  or 
religious  duties,  and  from  the  inspiring  agency  of 
the  Holy  Ghost.  And  hence  it  is  sometimes  de- 
nominated the  "joy  of  the  Holy  Ghost." 

(2.) — Again,  natural  joy,  arising  from  natural 
principles,  and  unchecked  and  unregulated  by 
gracious  influences,  has  oftentimes  a  very  powerful 
effect  upon  the  physical  system.  And  it  is  possi- 
ble and  even  probable,  that  this  may  sometimes  be 
the  case  with  true  spiritual  or  gracious  joy ;  espe- 
cially when  the  emotion  is  strong  and  immediately 
successive  to  a  painfully  depressed  and  suffering 
state  of  mind.  And  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  sup- 
pose, that,  in  some  cases,  when  powerful  physical 
results  are  found  to  exist,  that  there  may  be  a 
union  or  combination  of  natural  and  gracious  emo- 
tion. But  it  is  nevertheless  true,  that  the  natural 
tendency  of  spiritual  joy,  in  itself  considered,  and 
independently  of  any  peculiar  circumstances,  is,  in  a 
remarkable  degree,  and  much  more  so  than  that  of 
mere  natural  joy,  to  produce  a  tranquilizing  effect 
upon  the  mind  and  through  the  mind  upon  the 
physical  system,  and  to  promote  soundness  and 
regularity  of  action  in  both. 

(3.) — We  observe,  in  the  third  place,  that  there 


NATURAL  AND  SPIRITUAL  JOY.  93 

is  a  tendency  in  natural  joy,  especially  when  it  is 
strong,  to  perplex  the  action  of  the  perceptive  and 
discriminating  or  judging  powers.  This  is  true  of 
the  natural  emotions  generally,  when  they  are  in 
an  excited  state.  Any  considerable  agitation  in 
that  portion  of  our  sensitive  nature,  which  is  termed 
the  Emotions,  is  commonly  understood  to  ^be  unfa- 
vorable to  correct  perception  and  judgment.  A 
man,  for  instance,  who  is  agitated  with  emotions 
of  displeasure,  of  jealousy,  or  of  fear,  will  find  it 
difficult,  while  remaining  in  such  state  of  agitation, 
to  go  through  successfully  with  an  intricate  train 
of  mathematical  or  other  reasoning.  And  the  re- 
sult will  be  the  same,  if  he  is  considerably  agitated 
with  emotions  of  natural  pleasure  or  joy.  But  true 
spiritual  joy,  when  undisturbed  by  imfavorable  in- 
fluences from  the  physical  system  and  unmixed 
with  natural  joy,  leaves  the  mind  tranquil,  and  the 
perceptive  and  discriminating  faculties  clear  and 
eflTective  in  the  highest  degree.  And  these  views 
seem  to  be  confirmed  by  a  consideration  of  the  state 
of  holy  beings.  All  holy  beings,  there  can  be  no 
doubt,  experience  true  joy  of  heart ;  but  in  our  re- 
flections on  their  mental  character  and  operations, 
it  is  certain,  that  we  never  conceive  of  them  as 
having  their  minds  clouded  and  their  perceptive 
powers  blunted  by  excessive  emotion.  The  natu- 
ral feelings,  which  are  regulated  with  difliculty, 
continually  run  into  excess ;  but  this  is  never  the 
case  with  those  truly  religious  or  gracious  feelings, 
which  are  really  inspired  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  And, 
tlierefore,  when  it  said  of  the  disciples  on  a  certain 


94  ON  THE  DISTINCTIOiM  BETWEEN 

occasion,  (Luke  24  :  41,)  that  they ''believed  not 
for  JOY,"  it  is  probable,  that  they  experienced  an 
excitement  and  confusion  of  mind,  resulting  from 
a  mixture  of  natural  joy  with  emotions  of  an  holy 
kind. 

(4.) — It  remains  to  be  remarked  further,  that 
natural  joy  is  often  attended  with  certain  inciden- 
tal evils,  which  are  not  likely  to  exist  in  connection 
with  gracious  or  holy  joy  ;  such  as  an  undue  hilar- 
ity of  spirit,  a  sort  of  unreflecting  and  too  youthful 
levity  and  flightiness  of  thought  and  manner,  un- 
suitable to  our  age  or  our  situation  in  life;  what 
George  Fox,  in  speaking  of  some  Christians  in  his 
day,  expressively  describes,  as  "  being  up  in  the  airy 
MIND."  On  the  other  hand,  holy  joy,  when  it  is 
free  from  any  mixture  and  perversion  of  natural 
joy,  is  deliberately  and  deeply  serious.  When  nat- 
ural joy  is  superadded  or  is  superinduced  upon  a 
truly  spiritual  or  gracious  experience,  and  gives  a 
character  to  our  actions,  it  is  possible,  that  there 
may  be  sometimes  results  bordering  upon  those 
airy  and  flighty  manifestations,  which  have  been 
mentioned ;  but  whenever  this  is  the  case,  it  is  cer- 
tain, that  these  results  do  not  flow  from  any  state 
of  mind,  which  is  truly  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spir- 
it. Religious  or  sanctified  joy,  always  bearing  the 
stamp  of  deliberation  and  wisdom,  always  in  keep- 
ing with  that  seriousness  which  naturally  flows 
out  of  the  truths  and  the  responsibilities  of  religion, 
is  entirely  suited  to  the  objects  and  occasions,  on 
which  it  arises ;  so  as  to  leave  in  the  mind  both 
the  appearance  and  the  fact  of  perfect  tranquillity ; 


Natural  and  spiritual  joV.  95 

such  as  there  is  in  God  himself,  who  may  be  said 
to  be  always  happy,  always  joyful,  and  yet  to  be 
always  serious  and  unalterably  tranquil.  This  joy 
seems  to  me  to  be  often  expressed  in  the  Scriptures 
by  the  word  peace  ;  and  is  probably  the  precise 
state  of  mind,  the  delightful  legacy  of  all  true 
Christians,  which  the  Savior  had  in  view,  when 
he  said  to  his  disciples,  "peace  I  leave  with  you  ; 
MY  peace  I  give  unto  you."  Such  a  joy  may  be 
strong.  In  the  language  of  scripture,  it  may  be 
*'  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory."  But  it  is  always 
calm  and  peaceful ;  and  in  this  respect  is  entirely 
different  from  that  excited  and  unprofitable  intoxi- 
cation of  spirit,  which  is  sometimes  found  to  be  ex- 
perienced, and  which  so  possesses  and  agitates  the 
mind,  that  the  will  of  God  and  our  duty  cannot  be 
clearly  perceived. 

Finally,  holy  joy,  being  founded  in  the  percep- 
tion of  the  character,  attributes,  and  will  of  God,  is 
not  necessarily  liable  to  changes.  He,  who  rejoices 
in  God  to-day,  having  a  correct  view  of  his  char- 
acter and  will,  will  never  find  reason  to  do  other- 
wise than  rejoice  in  that  character  and  will,  in  all 
coming  time.  And  simply  because  Godj  in  his 
character  and  his  will,  is  always  the  same.  In  all 
afiiictions  and  trials  of  whatever  nature,  there  will 
still  remain  the  basis  of  a  serene  and  pure  joy  in  the 
depths  of  the  heart.  But  natural  joy,being  found- 
ed upon  natural  objects,  which  are  frail,  uncertain, 
and  full  of  imperfection,  necessarily  partakes  of  the 
uncertainty  and  imperfect  nature  of  its  causes. 
And  hence  it  is  said  in  the  portion  of  Scripture  al- 


fi 


96  ON  THE  DISTINCTION  BETWEEN 

ready  referred  to.  "They  on  the  rock  are  they, 
which,  when  they  hear,  receive  the  word  with  joy, 
[that  is  with  natural  joy.]  And  these  have  no  root, 
which  for  a  while  believe,  and  in  time  of  temptation, 
fall  away."  So  that  holy  or  spiritual  joy  may  be 
compared  to  the  sun,  which  always  shines  with  its 
pure  and  beautiful  light,  even  when  wrapped  in 
clouds  ;  but  natural  joy  is  like  a  meteor,  gleaming 
for  a  moment  and  then  extinguished;  rekindled 
again  after  a  time,  but  destined  soon  and  suddenly  to 
sink  in  still  greater  darkness. 

In  connection  with  the  marks,  which  thus  sepa- 
rate natural  from  spiritual  joy,  we  observe,  in  con- 
clusion, that  spiritual  joy,  being  a  truly  Christian 
grace,  is  exceedingly  valuable  and  desirable.  And 
truly  blessed  is  he,  who  possesses  that  state  of  mind, 
which  is  properly  called  "joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost." 
It  is  true  it  is  a  grace,  both  subsequent  in  time  and 
inferior  in  rank  to  love,  which  ought  to  be  sought 
first  as  the  reigning  and  controlling  principle  of  the 
soul.  But,  it  is,  nevertheless,  in  its  appropriate  time 
and  place,one  of  the  precious  gifts  and  graces  of  God. 
And  hence  theTVarious  expressions  and  commands, 
having  a  relation  to  this  cheering  state  of  mind, 
which  are  found  in  the  Bible.  "Rejoice  in  (he  Lord, 
O  ye  righteous ;  for  praise  is  comely  for  the  up- 
right." Ps.  33;  1.  "But  rejoice,  inasmuch  as  ye  are 
partakers  of  Christ's  sufferings ;  that  when  his  glo- 
ry shall  be  revealed,  ye  may  be  glad  also  with  ex- 
ceeding joy."  First  Peter,  4:  13.  "These  things 
have  I  spoken  unto  you,  that  my  joy  might  remain 
in  you,  and  that  your  joy  might  be  full."  John,  15; 


NATURAL  AND  SPIRITUAL  JOY.  97 

11.  "  Rejoice  evermore  ;  pray  without  ceasing ;  in 
every  thing  give  thanks  ;  for  this  is  the  will  of  God 
in  Christ  Jesus  concerning  you."  1st  Thess.  5 ; 
16,  17,18. 


Illastration  of  the  subject  from  personal  experience. 

[In  the  following  extract  from  the  personal  experience  of  a 
pious  person  of  the  Baptist  church,  now  no  longer  living,  the  read- 
er will  notice  an  exemplification  of  that  tendency  to  seek  for  joy- 
ous emotion,  which  is  so  common  and  oftentimes  so  injurious.] 

"  I  trust  I  was  enabled  deliberately,  not  only  in 
view  of  sickness  and  death,  but  of  life  and  health, 
to  make  an  unreserved  consecration  of  my  all  to 
Christ,  and  to  feel  that  in  whatever  situation  I 
might  be,  holiness  to  the  Lord  must  henceforth  be 
my  motto.  I  could  now  yield  myself  a  willing 
subject  to  the  sanctifying  grace  of  God,  beheving 
he  would  work  in  me  according  to  the  good  pleas- 
ure of  his  will.  Soon  a  heavenly  calm  possessed 
my  mind,  a  sense  of  the  divine  glory  surrounded  me, 
and  my  whole  soul  seemed  in  sweet  harmony 
with  the  holiness  of  God.  There  were  no  rapturous 
emotions,  but  I  felt 

"  The  sacred  awe  that  dares  not  move, 
And  all  the  silent  heaven  of  love." 

How  easy  now  seemed  the  divine  requirement, 
to  love  Him  with  all  the  heart,  and  my  neighbor  as 
myself  I  felt  a  peculiar  tenderness  of  conscience, 
and  feared  nothing  but  to  offend  my  Savior.  Be- 
ing still  feeble  in  body,I  could  not  endure  strong  men- 
tal exercises, and  as  the  change  in  my  feelings  was  not 
sudden,  nor  characterized  by  strong  emotions,  I  was 
9 


98  ON  NATURAL  AND  SPIRITUAL  JOV. 

soon'tempted  to  doubt  whether  it  was  really  what  1 
had  been  seeking  for.  I  prayed  earnestly  for  a  full- 
ness OF  JOY,  and  an  undoubted  evidence,  but  the  more 
I  sought  for  this,  the  less  my  evidence  appeared,  un- 
til I  was  willing  to  leave  all  with  God,  to  give 
either  a  crumb  or  a  full  meal.  My  peace  then  re- 
turned, and  blessed  be  God,  it  has  continued  like  a 
river,  to  flow  broader  and  deeper  to  the  present  time. 
Never  before  did  I  feel  so  much  my  entire  depen- 
dence on  all-sufficient  grace,  and  such  a  confidence 
that  it  would  be  given  in  every  time  of  need.  Like 
a  little  child  I  have  looked  into  the  Bible  for  instruc- 
tion, and  O  what  an  inexpressible  glory  has  beam- 
ed therefrom !  A  new  blessedness  has  appeared 
while  receiving  Christ  as  a  Savior  from  all  sin, — 
a  present  Savior,  a  full  Savior.  How  glorious 
the  consideration  to  one,  who  has  all  her  life  in  some 
degree  been  subject  to  bondage  !  Truly  I  can  now 
say  the  Holy  Spirit  has  led  me  into  the  truth,  and 
the  truth  has  made  me  free.  I  no  longer  feel  like  a 
wanderer,  but  like  a  child  at  home.  My  weary  soul 
now  rests  in  Christ,  and  finds  "his  yoke  easy,  and 
his  burden  light."  With  entire  confidence  can  I  now 
commit  all  my  interests,  temporal  and  spiritual,  in- 
to his  hands,  and  feel  that  they  are  safe.  My  great- 
est desire  is  to  know  and  do  the  will  of  my  Heav- 
enly Father,  and  to  possess  all  the  mind  of  Christ. 
I  feel  deeply  interested  in  the  progress  of  holiness. 
With  all  my  heart  can  I  bid  God-speed  to  those, 
who  are  engaged  in  promoting  this  blessed  cause."* 


*  Guide  to  Christian  Perfection,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  39. 


CHAPTER  TENTH. 


Some  marks  or  characteristics  of  perfection  of  Love. 


If  the  doctrine,  which  is  variously  termed  sanc- 
tification,  evangelical  holiness,  and  evangelical  or 
christian  perfection,  be  true,  then  it  will  follow,  that 
it  is  our  duty  and  privilege,  even  in  the  present  life, 
to  realize  in  our  own  souls  the  fulfillment  of  that 
great  command,  "Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy 
God  with  all  thy  heart."  In  other  words,  it  is  our 
duty  and  privilege  to  possess  what  may  properly 
be  called  perfect  love.  Accordingly  it  becomes  a 
very  important  and  interesting  inquiry,  When  can 
our  love  properly  be  said  to  be  perfect  ?  It  will  be 
our  object  in  the  remarks  which  follow  in  this  chap- 
ter, to  endeavor  to  answer  this  inquiry. 

But  before  proceeding,  it  may  be  proper  to  pre- 
mise here,  that  perfection  of  love  implies  the  remo- 
val or  extinction  of  all  selfishness.  In  other  words, 
perfect  love  is  always  pure  love.  We  may  proba- 
bly conceive  of  love,  which  is  pure  in  its  nature-,  but 
is  deficient,  and  therefore  not  perfect  in  its  degree 
or  intensity.  But  we  cannot  conceive  of  love  which 
is  acceptable  to  God,  and  is  perfect  in  degree,  which 
has  any  intermixture  of  selfishness. 


100       SOME  MARKS  OR  CHARACTERISTICS 

Another  remark,  which  may  properly  be  made 
here,  is  this.  Perfection  of  love  is  necessarily  rela- 
tive to  the  capacity  of  the  subject  of  it.  In  other 
words,  what  would  be  perfection  of  love  in  one 
would  not  be  in  another,  whose  capacity  of  loving 
is  greater.  That  precise  amount  or  degree  of  love 
in  man,  which  would  be  characterized  as  perfect  in 
consequence  of  being  all  his  capacity  could  render, 
would  be  imperfect  in  an  angel  or  other  being  of 
greater  capacity. 

With  these  remarks  in  recollection,  we  proceed 
to  inquire,  when  our  love  to  God  may  be  regarded 
as  PERFECT.  In  other  words,  when  shall  we  know, 
or  at  least  have  reasonable  grounds  to  believe,  that 
we  fulfil  in  our  own  hearts  that  great  and  excellent 
command.  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with 
all  thy  heart  and  soul  and  mind  and  strength? — 
Love  to  a  human  object  is  generally  understood  to 
embrace  two  things ;  first,  a  pleasure  or  compla- 
cency in  the  object,  and  second,  a  desire  to  do  good 
to  that  object.  When  speaking  of  God,  who  sus- 
tains to  us  a  relation  higher  and  different  from  that 
sustained  by  human  beings,  we  may  with  proprie- 
ty alter  the  form  of  expression  slightly,  although 
with  essentially  the  same  idea  at  the  bottom,  and 
say  that  love  to  God  embraces  two  things;  first, 
a  pleasure  or  complacency  in  his  character,  and 
SECOND,  a  desire  to  promote  his  glory.  The  charac- 
teristics of  entireness  or  perfection  of  love,  which 
we  shall  proceed  to  mention,  are  based  upon  this 
distinction. 

First. — Accordingly  the  first  mark  of  perfect  love 


OF  PERFECTION  OF  LOVE.  101 

to  God  is  an  entire  approbation  of  and  delight  in  his 
character  in  all  respects.  In  other  words,  appro- 
ving and  complacent  emotions,  without  the  least 
intermixture  of  doubt  and  dissatisfaction,  arise  in 
view  of  his  power  and  justice,  as  well  as  of  his 
goodness  and  mercy,  so  that  we  delight  truly  and 
continually  in  his  whole  character,  and  in  all  the 
exhibitions  of  his  character,  as  they  are  actually 
made  known  to  us  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  or  in  any 
other  way.  The  least  want  of  trust  and  compla- 
cency in  the  divine  character  will  necessarily  be  a 
vicious  ingredient  or  element  in  the  affection  of  love, 
which  cannot  fail  to  diffuse  weakness  and  imper- 
fection throughout. — This  is  one  point,  then,  on 
which  it  is  important  to  examine  ourselves.  If  we 
find,  that  the  character  of  God,  as  it  presents  itself 
to  notice  in  all  its  varieties,  appears  to  us  exceed' 
ingly  pure  and  lovely;  if  we  contemplate  it  with  a 
perfect  conviction,  that  all  its  manifestations  will 
be  in  accordance  with  truth,  mercy,  and  righteous- 
ness, and  with  no  other  emotions  in  any  respect, 
than  those  of  entire  complacency,  then  we  have 
reason  to  think,  that  we  have  one  of  the  marks  or 
characteristics  of  perfection  of  love.  Not,  in  all 
probability,  the  leading  and  decisive,  but  still  an 
indispensable  one. 

Second.^ — A  second  mark  of  perfect  love  to  God 
is  the  existence  of  a  desire  to  promote  his  glory, 
which  is  the  other  higher  and  more  decisive  char- 
acteristic of  this  complex  mental  state,  in  such  a 
degree^  that  we  are  not  conscious  of  having  any  de- 
sire or  will    at  variance    with  the  will   of  God, 


102  SOME  MARKS  OR  CHARACTERISTICS 

In  Other  words,  it  is  our  sincere  and  constant  de- 
sire to  do  and  to  suffer  in  all  things  the  will  of  God. 
When  such  is  the  case,  when  there  is  an  entire  and 
cordial  acquiescence  of  our  own  in  the  will  of  God 
both  to  do  and  to  suffer,  we  have  the  second  mark, 
and  we  may  add  also,  the  most  important  and  sat- 
isfactory one,  that  our  love  is  perfect.  The  nature 
of  the  human  mind  is  such,  that  we  never  can  have 
an  entire  and  cordial  acquiescence  in  the  will  of 
God  in  all  things,  without  an  antecedent  approval 
of  and  complacency  in  his  character  and  adminis- 
tration.— Accordingly  the  second  mark,  viz.,  a  will 
entirely  accordant  with  and  lost  in  the  will  of  God, 
is  of  itself  sufficient,  inasmuch  as  it  necessarily  in- 
cludes and  embraces  the  first.  And  by  this  mark 
alone,  as  I  suppose,  we  might  know,  whether  our 
love  is  or  is  not  perfect. 

We  may,  perhaps,  illustrate  this  view  of  the  sub- 
ject, by  what  we  sometimes  notice  in  the  various 
forms  and  degrees  of  filial  love.  We  will  take,  in 
the  first  place,  the  case  of  a  child,  who  is  sincerely 
attached  to  his  father,  but  who,  as  we  sometimes 
express  it,  exhibits  a  "will  of  his  own."  This 
child,  undoubtedly,  loves  his  father  very  much ;  but 
at  the  same  time  he  does  not  always  do,  with  en- 
tire pleasure  and  readiness,  what  his  father  wishes 
him  to  do.  He  sometimes  hesitates,  exhibits  a 
clouded  brow,  or  utters  an  impatient  expression, 
when  certain  things  are  required  of  him.  He  has 
certain  little  objects  of  his  own  which  he  is  very 
much  attached  to;  and  if  his  father's  plans  happen 
to  cross  and  oppose  them,  he  exhibits,  in  a  greater 


OF  PERFECTION  OF  LOVE.  103 

or  less  degree,  a  disposition  to  set  np  for  himself 
and  to  rebel.  And  when  he  outwardly  obeys,  it  is 
found  that  he  does  it  reluctantly,  and  not  with  a 
will  harmonizing  and  blending  with  the  paternal 
will.  Now  we  say  very  truly,  that  this  child  loves 
his  father — perhaps  he  loves  him  very  much — and 
yet  it  is  clear  he  does  not  love  him  perfectly.  But 
when  we  see  a  child  who  is  happy  only  when  he 
sees  his  father  happy ;  whose  delight  it  is  to  antici- 
pate the  father's  wishes;  whose  will,  by  a  sort  of 
instinctive  tendency,  is  invariably  and  powerfully 
united  and  blended  with  the  paternal  will,  so  that 
the  least  opposition  between  the  two  wills  is  a  source 
of  the  greatest  grief  to  him,  we  at  once  feel,  and 
cannot  help  feeling,  that  the  love  of  such  a  child 
may  properly  be  called  perfect.  And  in  accordance 
with  this  view,  it  is  said  to  have  been  one  of  the 
sayings  of  the  devout  Francis  Xavier,  that  "the 
perfection  of  the  creature  consists  in  willing  noth- 
ing but  the  will  of  the  Creator." 

What  other  idea  of  perfection  of  love  can  we  have 
than  this  ?  His  heart  is  made  one  with  another 
heart,  and  what  could  we  ask  for  more?  This,  then, 
is  the  true  mark  of  perfection  in  Christian  love,  viz. 
an  entire  coincidence  of  our  own  wills  with  the  will 
of  God ;  a  full  and  hearty  substitution  of  the  divine 
mind  in  the  place  of  our  own  minds  ;  the  rejection 
of  the  natural  principle  of  life,  which  is  love  termi- 
nating in  self,  and  the  adoption  of  the  heavenly 
principle  of  life,  which  is  love  terminating  and  ful- 
filled in  God  ;  in  other  words,  the  expulsion  of  self 
from  the  heart  and  the  enthronement  of  God  there 


104  SOME  MARKS  OK  CHARACTERISTICS 

as  its  everlasting  sovereign.  This  view,  which  is 
practically,  as  well  as  theologically,  a  very  impor- 
tant one,  seems  to  be  confirmed  by  what  the  Savior 
says  of  himself  in  a  number  of  passages.  John  vi. 
38,  "For  I  came  down  from  heaven  not  to  do  mine 
own  will,  but  the  will  of  him  that  sent  me."  John 
iv.  34,  "Jesus  saith  unto  them.  My  meat  is  to  do 
the  will  of  him  that  sent  me,  and  to  finish  his  work." 
Heb.  X.  9,  "  Then  said  he,  Lo,  I  come  to  do  thy 
will,  O  God."  The  same  idea,  viz,  that  perfection 
of  Christian  love  exists,  and  exists  only  in  connec- 
tion with  a  will  united  to  and  perfectly  coincident 
with  the  will  of  God,  is  conveyed  in  that  interest- 
ing passage,  Mark  iii.  34,  35,  "And  he  looked  round 
about  on  them  which  sat  about  him,  and  said,  Be- 
hold my  mother  and  my  brethren!  For  whosoever 
shall  do  the  will  of  God,  the  same  is  my  brother,  and 
my  sister,  and  mother."  Matt.  vii.  21,  "Not  every 
one  that  saith  unto  me,  Lord,  Lord,  shall  enter  in- 
to the  kingdom  of  heaven,  but  he,  that  doeth  the  will 
of  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven." 

A  number  of  inferences  easily  follow  from  these 
general  views,  and  which  may  be  regarded  as  fur- 
nishing some  additional  or  secondary  marks  of  per- 
fected love. 

(1.) — A  person,  who  has  perfect  love,  will  love  his 
Bible  above  all  other  books.  It  will  be  dear  to  his 
heart,  an  inexpressible  treasure.  And  the  reason 
is  obvious.  It  is  because  in  the  Bible  he  learns  the 
will  of  God,  which  he  delights  in,  more  than  in  any 
tiling  else.  And  hence  it  is  one  of  the  artifices  of 
Satan,  who  is  no  friend  of  the  Bible,  to  endeavor 


OF  PERFECTION  OF  LOVE,  105 

to  detach  devout  minds  from  the  study  of  the  Di- 
vine Word  under  the  plausible  pretence,  that  the 
inward  teachings  of  the  Spirit  are  of  more  value, 
than  the  outward  letter.  An  artifice,  which  he, 
who  desires  a  close  walk  with  God,  will  carefully 
guard  against ;  remembering  that  God  cannot  con- 
sistently, and  will  not,  neglect  and  dishonor  his 
own  divine  communications ;  that  the  Holy  Spiril 
operates  in  a  peculiar  manner,  in  connection  with 
the  written  Word  ;  and  that  he,  who  deserts  the 
Word  of  God,  may  reasonably  expect  to  be  deserted 
by  the  Spirit. 

(2.) — Perfect  love  will  exhibit  a  trait  of  perma- 
nency and  perseverance  under  the  most  trying  cir- 
cumstances. Our  fears  and  hopes  vary ;  our  joys 
and  sorrows  vary  ;  but  we  may  reasonably  expect 
that  perfect  love  will  continue  the  same.  There  is 
no  reason  why  it  should  change,  since  the  object  at 
which  it  aims  is  the  same  with  the  immutable  will 
of  God.  The  will  of  God  is  its  true  life.  Accord- 
mgly,  when  in  the  providence  of  God  we  are  afflict- 
ed, our  joys  will  be  less,  but  there  will  be  no  dim- 
mution  of  love.  Joy  flourishes  in  the  sunshine,  but 
love  grows  and  flourishes  in  the  storm  also.  God 
may  hide  his  face  from  us,  but  hearts  of  love  still 
look  in  that  direction  where  his  face  is.  The  Sa- 
vior, on  a  certain  occasion,  was  greatly  afiiicted. 
His  language  was,  "My  soul  is  exceeding  sorrow- 
ful, even  unto  death."  His  joy  was  taken  from 
him,  but  his  love  remained.  He  could  still  say, 
while  he  prayed  that  the  cup  might,  if  possible, 


106  SOME  MARKS  OF  PERFECTION  OF  LOVE. 

pass  from  him,  "  Nevertheless,  not  as  I  will,  but  as 
Thou  wilt." 

(3.) — We  remark,  in  conclusion,  that  those,  in 
whom  the  love  of  God  is  perfected,  will  love  the 
children  of  God  with  peculiar  strength.  Perfect 
love  is  the  image  of  Christ  in  the  soul ;  and  wherev- 
er we  see  that  image,  in  whatever  denomination  of 
Christians,  and  in  whatever  persons,  our  hearts 
will  recognize  the  divine  relationship,  and  rejoice 
in  it.  Without  this  strong  love  to  those  who  bear 
the  divine  image,  we  may  be  sure  that  our  love  is 
not  perfect.  It  is  God's  great  work,  and  highest 
delight,  to  create  this  image  in  the  hearts  of  men ; 
and  if  our  will  is  swallowed  up  in  his  will,  we 
shall  rejoice  in  it  in  some  degree  as  he  does,  and 
shall  know  the  delightful  meaning  of  those  numer- 
ous passages  of  Scripture  which  speak  of  the  love 
of  Christians  to  each  other. 


"  Tis  Love  unites  what  sin  divides  ; 
The  centre,  where  all  bliss  resides  ; 

To  which  the  soul  once  brought, 
Reclining  on  the  first  Great  Cause, 
From  his  abounding  sweetness  draws 
Peace,  passing  human  thought." 


CHAPTER  ELEVENTH. 


On  the  Act  or  Coveuant  of  Religions  Consecration. 


The  two  great  and  inspiring  elements  of  the  re- 
ligious life  are  faith  and  love.  And  in  the  case  of 
those  who  are  experiencing  all  that  it  is  our  privi- 
lege to  experience  in  the  present  state  of  being, 
they  are  perfect  faith  and  perfect  love.  Hence  it 
became  necessary,  at  an  early  stage  of  our  inqui- 
ries, to  enter  into  some  explanations  of  these  two 
great  principles.  Principles  so  important,  that  they 
ought  to  be  fully  understood  both  in  their  nature 
and  relations.  Principles  so  nearly  affiliated,  that 
if  one  exists,  the  other  exists,  and  whether  they 
are  contemplated  in  their  combined  or  separate  ac- 
tion, are  so  effective  and  ascendant  over  the  men- 
tal operations,  that  their  existence  in  the  highest 
degree  necessarily  involves  the  renovation  of  the 
whole  moral  nature. 

We  are  now  prepared  to  return  to  a  topic,  which 
was  briefly  noticed  in  the  third  chapter,  and  to 
consider  it  a  little  more  at  large.  We  refer  to  the 
important  subject  of  personal  Consecration.  And 
we  call  it  important,  because  it  seems  to  us  that  it 
is  closely  connected  with,  and  is,  indeed,  a  sort  of 


108  ON  THE  ACT  OR  COVENANT 

antecedent  condition  to  whatever  is  most  valuable 
in  the  experience  of  faith  and  love.  We  do  not 
propose,  however,  in  the  present  chapter,  to  enter 
into  an  examination  of  the  necessity  of  the  dedica- 
ting or  consecrating  Act,  and  of  the  benefits  con- 
nected with  it,  which  we  cannot  doubt  are  general- 
ly conceded ;  but  to  limit  our  remarks  to  the  man- 
ner, in  which  the  act  or  covenant  of  consecration 
ought  to  be  made. 

(1.) — And  the  first  remark,  which  we  have  to 
make  on  this  subject,  is,  that  the  consecration  of 
ourselves  to  God  should  be  made  deliberately. — 
A  consecration,  made  in  this  manner,  viz.  with 
calmness  and  deliberation,  is  due  to  our  own  char- 
acters, as  rational  and  reflecting  beings.  As  God 
has  made  us  perceptive  and  rational,  he  desires 
and  expects  us,  especially  in  important  transactions, 
to  act  in  accordance  with  the  principles  he  has 
given  us.  It  is  not  reasonable  to  suppose,  that 
God  would  be  pleased  with  a  consecration,  made 
thoughtlessly  and  by  blind  impulse,  rather  than  by 
deliberate  reflection.  Man  has  deliberately  re- 
belled and  gone  astray,  and  it  is  due  to  himself  and 
his  Maker,  it  is  due  to  truth  and  to  holiness,  that 
he  should  deliberately  and  reflectingly  submit  and 
return ;  that  his  repentance  of  sin  should  be  ac- 
companied with  a  clear  perception  of  his  sinful- 
ness; that  his  determination  to  do  God's  wiU 
should  be  attended  with  some  suitable  apprehen- 
sions of  what  He  requires  ;  and  that  his  fixed  pur- 
pose of  future  obedience  should  be  sustained  by  the 
united  strength  of  all  appropriate  considerations. 


OF  RELIGIOUS  CONSECRATION.  109 

(2.) — We  observe,  in  the  second  place,  that  the 
consecration  must  be  made  for  all  coming  time.     It 
is  true,  that  there  may  be  specific  consecrations  of 
a  modified  character,  restricted  to  particular  ob- 
jects and  occasions,  and  limited  also  to  definite  pe- 
riods.    A  person,  for  instance,  may  devote  himself 
exclusively,  for  a  limited  time,  to  the  one  important 
object  of  erecting  a  place  of  public  worship.     And 
regarding  him  as  giving  to  this  one  object  all  his 
powers  of  body  and  of  mind,  we  may  properly 
speak  of  him,  in  an  imperfect  or  modified  sense  of 
the  term,  as  consecrated  to  this  particular  work. 
But  it  is  quite  obvious,  that  such  instances  of  con- 
secration are  exceedingly  different  from  the   one 
under   consideration ;  which  is   fundamental    and 
universal  in  its  character,  and  which  would  be  in- 
consistent with  itself,  if  it  were  applied  to  one  ob- 
ject to  the  exclusion  of  others ;  which  takes  into 
view  the  very  being  and  nature  of  the  soul ;  which 
considers  the  principles  of  man's  departure  from  God 
and  also  the  principles  involved  in  his  restoration  ; 
which  recognises  the  full  amount  of  God's   immu- 
table and  infinite  claims ;  and  which,  therefore,  on 
the  grounds  of  truth  and  rectitude,    as  well  as  of 
safety  and  of  happiness,  cannot  be  made  for  a  less 
period  than  all  time  and  eternity. 

(3.)  It  may  be  remarked  again,  that  the  consecra- 
tion, including  our  bodies  as  well  as  our  spirits,  and 
our  possessions  as  well  as  our  persons,  all  we  are 
and  all  we  have,  all  we  can  do  and  all  we  can 
suflfer,  should  be  made  without  any  reserve.  There 
are  many  professors  of  religion,  who  are  willing 
10 


110  ON  THE  ACT  OR  COVENANT 

to  give  up  something  to  the  Lord ;  and  perhaps 
it  can  be  said,  that  there  are  many  who  are  wil- 
ling to  give  up  MUCH ;  but  the  consecration,  of  which 
we  are  speaking,  requires  us  to  be  truly  willing  to 
give  up  ALL.  And  not  only  to  be  willing  to  give 
up  all,  but  to  do  it.  It  is  true,  that  in  our  present 
state,  some  things  are  needful  for  us,  and  our  heav- 
enly Father  assures  us  that  he  is  not  ignorant  of  it. 
But  while,  in  compassion  to  our  obvious  wants,  he 
bestows  upon  us  those  things,  which  are  necessary 
to  beings  who  must  be  fed,  clothed,  and  sheltered, 
he  requires  us  to  hold  these  and  all  other  gifts 
of  a  temporal  nature,  which  we  sometimes  call 
our  own,  as  bestowments  imparted  by  himself  for 
a  special  purpose,  and  to  be  retained  and  used  in  per- 
fect subordination  to  the  divine  will. — And  still  more 
important  and  necessary  is  it,  that  all  the  exercises 
of  the  mind,  that  all  powers  and  efforts  of  the  intel- 
lect and  all  desires  and  purposes  of  the  heart  and 
will,  should  be  laid  sacredly  upon  the  divine  altar; 
in  perfect  simplicity  of  view ;  without  any  reserva- 
tion, and  without  any  regards,  however  secret  and 
intimate,  to  the  claims  of  self;  inscribed,  as  it  were, 
within  and  without,  with  holiness  to  the  Lord; 
FROM  God,  OF  God,  and  for  God. — Consecration 
without  reserve  implies,  that  we  are  not  only  to  give 
up  our  persons  and  powers  to  be  employed  as  God 
wills,  but  also  to  endure  or  suffer  as  God  wills ; 
and  it  implies  also  that  we  are  to  give  them  up  to  bo 
employed  and  to  suffer,  just  in  the  time  and  place, 
and  in  all  the  precise  circumstances,  which  are  agree- 
able to  God ;  without  presuming  to  dictate  to  him  in 


OF  RELIGIOUS  CONSECRATION  111 

the  smallest  respects,  and  without  any  will  or  choice 
of  our  own. 

(4.) — Finally,  in  the  full  conviction  that  no  ef- 
forts or  purposes  of  our  own  will  be  available  with- 
out divine  assistance,  we  should  make  the  conse- 
cration in  reliance  upon  divine  strength ;  recogni- 
zing, on  the  one  hand,  our  own  entire  weakness ; 
and  at  the  same  time  fully  believing,  on  the  other, 
in  the  willingness  and  readiness  of  God  to  aid  and 
deliver  us  in  every  time  of  temptation  and  trial. 
A  consecration,  made  without  a  distinct  recognition 
of  our  own  insufficiency,  and  without  the  expres- 
sion and  the  reality  of  reliance  on  God  alone  as 
our  only  hope,  would  be  wanting  in  the  most  es- 
sential element.  It  would  necessarily  fail  of  the 
divine  blessing ;  and  could  not  result  in  any  good. 
"Lay  it  down  to  yourself,  as  a  most  certain  prin- 
ciple," says  Dr.  Doddridge,  "that  no  attempt  in  re- 
ligion is  to  be  made  in  your  own  strength.  If  you 
forget  this,  and  God  purposes  finally  to  save  you, 
he  will  humble  you  with  repeated  disappointments, 
till  he  teach  you  better." 

A  consecration,  thus  deliberately  made,  inclu- 
ding all  our  acts,  powers,  and  possessions  of  body, 
mind,  and  estate,  made  without  any  reserve  either 
in  objects,  time,  or  place ;  embracing  trial  and  suf- 
fering as  well  as  action,  never  to  be  modified,  and 
never  to  be  withdrawn,  and  which  contemplates 
its  fulfilment  in  divine  and  not  in  human  strength, 
necessarily  brings  one  into  a  new  relationship  with 
God,  of  the  most  intimate,  interesting,  and  effective 
nature.     It  is  not  easy  to  see,  how  a  soul,  that  is 


112  ON  THE  ACT  OR  COVENANT 

thus  consecrated,  can  ever  be  deserted.  Divinity 
is  pledged  in  its  behalf.  And  in  all  times  of  temp- 
tation and  trial,  when  clouds  and  storms  hang  dark- 
ly and  heavily  around,  there  will  always  be  a  re- 
deeming power,  a  light  in  the  midst  of  shadows, 
the  shining  of  the  bow  of  promise. 

A  word  further  remains  to  be  said  here.  I  am 
aware,  there  are  some,  who  seem  to  appreciate  the 
necessity  of  entirely  consecrating  themselves  to 
God,  and  perhaps  may  be  said  to  be  willing  to  do 
it,  but  who  have  felt  a  difficulty  in  one  particular. 
They  have  inquired  with  a  good  deal  of  solicitude, 
how  is  it  possible  to  make  a  consecration  now, 
which  shall  bind  us  to  fulfil  the  will  of  God  in  all 
the  emergencies  of  the  unseen  and  untried  future ; 
including  cases,  the  difficulties  of  which  we  are  now 
unable  to  appreciate ;  and  therefore  do  not  know, 
that  we  have  now,  or  ever  shall  have  strength  to 
meet  them.  In  respect  to  such  cases,  all  we  can 
say  is,  that  we  must  commit  ourselves  into  the 
hands  of  God  in  the  exercise  of  simple  faith;  remem- 
bering his  declaration,  that  "his  grace  is  sufficient." 
God  hath  said,  Heb.  13 :  5,  "I  will  never  leave  thee 
nor  forsake  thee.  So  that  we  may  boldly  say,  the 
Lord  is  my  helper,  and  I  will  not  fear  what  man 
shall  do  unto  me.  " 

In  the  conclusion  of  this  subject,  I  would  intro- 
duce another  short  passage  from  Dr.  Doddridge.=^^ 
— "I  would  further  advise  and  urge,"  he  says, 
"speaking  on  the  matter  of  making  an  entire  conse- 
cration of  ourselves,  "  that  this  dedication  should 


*  Rise  and  Progress  of  Religion  in  the  Soul,  Chap,  xvu. 


OF  RELIGIOUS  CONSECRATION.  113 

be  made  with  all  possible  solemnity.  Do  it  in  ex- 
press words.  And  perhaps  it  may  be  in  many  cases 
most  expedient,  as  many  pious  Divines  have  recom- 
mended, to  do  it  in  writing.  Set  your  hand  and 
seal  to  it,  that  on  such  a  day  of  such  a  month  and 
year,  and  at  such  a  place,  on  full  consideration, and 
serious  reflection,  you  came  to  this  happy  resolu- 
tion, that  whatever  others  might  do,  you  would 
serve  the  Lord."  In  connection  with  some  further 
remarks  of  this  kind,  he  gives  two  forms  of  conse- 
cration, of  which  the  following  is  an  abridgement. 


Form  of  consecration,  abridged  from  Dr.  Doddridge. 

Eternal  and  ever  blessed  God !  I  desire  to  pre- 
sent myself  before  Thee  with  the  deepest  humilia- 
tion and  abasement  of  soul,  sensible  how  unworthy 
such  a  sinful  worm  is,  to  appear  before  the  Holy 
Majesty  of  heaven,  and  to  enter  into  a  Covenant 
transaction  with  Thee.  I  come  acknowledging 
myself  to  have  been  a  great  offender  ;  smiting  on 
my  breast,  and  saying  with  the  humble  publican, 
God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner.  I  come  invited  in 
the  name  of  thy  Son,  and  wholly  trusting  in  his 
perfect  righteousness ;  intreating  that,  for  his  sake, 
Thou  wilt  be  merciful  to  my  unrighteousness,  and 
wilt  no  more  remember  my  sins. 

Permit  me,  O  Lord,  to  bring  back  unto  Thee 
those  powers  and  faculties,  which  I  have  ungrate- 
fully and  sacrilegiously  alienated  from  thy  service : 
And  receive,  I  beseech  Thee,  thy  poor  revolted  crea- 
10» 


114  ON  THE  ACT  OR  COVENANT 

ture,  who  is  now  convinced  of  thy  right  to  him,  and 
desires  nothing  in  the  world  so  much  as  to  be  Thine. 
It  is  with  the  utmost  solemnity,  that  I  make  this 
surrender  of  myself  unto  Thee.  I  avouch  the  Lord 
this  day  to  be  my  God ;  and  I  avouch  and  declare 
myself  this  day  to  be  one  of  his  Covenant  children 
and  people.  Hear,  O  Thou  God  of  heaven,  and  re- 
cord it  in  the  book  of  thy  remembrance,  that  I  am 
thine,  entirely  thine.  I  would  not  merely  conse- 
crate to  Thee  some  of  my  powers,  or  some  of  my 
possessions,  or  give  Thee  a  certain  portion  of  my 
services,  or  all  I  am  capable  of  for  a  limited  time ; 
but  I  would  be  wholy  thine  and  thine  forever. 

From  this  day  do  I  solemnly  renounce  all  the 
former  Lords,  which  have  had  dominion  over  me, 
every  sin  and  every  lust;  and  bid  in  thy  name  an 
eternal  defiance  to  the  powers  of  Hell,  which  have 
most  unjustly  usurped  the  empire  over  my  soul,  and 
to  all  the  corruptions,  which  their  fatal  temptations 
have  introduced  into  it.  The  whole  frame  of  my 
nature,  all  the  faculties  of  my  mind  and  all  the  mem- 
bers of  my  body  would  I  present  before  Thee  this 
day,  as  a  living  sacrifice,  holy  and  acceptable  to 
to  God,  which  I  know  to  be  my  most  reasonable 
service.  [To  Thee  I  consecrate  not  only  my  per- 
son and  powers,]  but  all  my  worldly  possessions  ; 
and  earnestly  pray  Thee  also  to  give  me  strength 
and  courage  to  exert  for  thy  glory  all  the  influence 
I  may  have  over  others  in  the  relations  of  life,  in 
which  I  stand. 

Nor  do  I  only  consecrate  all  that  I  am  and  have 
to  thy  service  ;  but  I  also  most  humbly  resign  and 


OF  RELIGIOUS  CONSECRATION.  115 

submit  to  thine  holy  and  sovereign  will,  myself,  and 
all  that  I  can  call  mine.  I  leave,  0  Lord,  to  thy 
management  and  direction  all  I  possess  and  all  I 
wish  ;  and  set  every  enjoyment  and  every  interest 
before  Thee,  to  be  disposed  of  as  Thou  pleasest  ; 
contentedly  resolving,  in  all  that  Thou  appointest 
for  me,  my  will  into  Thine,  and  looking  on  myself 
as  NOTHING,  and  on  Thee,  O  God,  as  the  great,  E- 
ternal  All,  whose  word  ought  to  determine  every 
tiling';  and  whose  government  ought  to  be  the  joy 
of  the  whole  rational  creation. 

Receive,  O  heavenly  Father,  thy  returning  prod- 
igal !  Wash  me  in  the  blood  of  thy  dear  Son ! 
Clothe  me  with  thy  perfect  righteousnes  ;  And  sanc- 
tify me  throughout  by  the  power  of  thy  Spirit.  And 
0  Lord,  when  thou  seest  the  agonies  of  dissolving 
nature  upon  me,  remember  this  Covenant,  even 
though  I  should  then  be  incapable  of  recollecting 
it,  and  look  with  pitying  eye  upon  thy  dying 
child.  Put  strength  and  confidence  into  my  de- 
parting spirit ;  and  receive  it  to  the  embraces  of 
thine  everlasting  love. 


CHAPTER  TWELFTH. 


Of  Assurance  of  Faith, 


It  is  worthy  of  notice,  both  as  a  religious  and  an 
historical  fact,  that  in  a  number  of  Christian  sects 
a  distinct  and  well  defined  modification  of  person- 
al religious  experience  has  for  many  ages  been 
known  and  recognized  under  the  denomination  of 

ASSURANCE  OF    FAITH. 

The  phraseology,  which  is  employed  to  indicate 
this  form  of  experience,  seems  to  have  had  its  ori- 
gin in  the  following  passage  in  Hebrews.  "Hav- 
ing, therefore,  brethren,  boldness  to  enter  into  the 
holiest  by  the  blood  of  Jesus,  by  a  new  and  living 
way,  which  he  hath  consecrated  for  us  through 
the  veil,  that  is  to  say,  his  flesh ;  and  having  a 
high  priest  over  the  house  of  God  ;  let  us  draw  near 
with  a  true  heart,  in  full  assurance  of  faith,  hav- 
ing our  hearts  sprinkled  from  an  evil  conscience, 
and  our  bodies  washed  with  pure  water."  Heb. 
10:  19—22. 

In  the  early  periods  of  this  country,  when  the 
piety  of  our  ancestors  was  chastened  and  invigora- 
ted by  heavy  afflictions,  the  instances  of  assurance 
OF  FAITH,  as   compared  with  those  of  later  times, 


OF  ASSURANCE  OF  FAITH.  117 

were  frequent.     It  is  a  matter  of  thankfulness,  that 
they  are  not  unknown  even  now. 

The  basis  of  this  form  of  reUgious  experience, 
as  the  name  given  to  it  itself  indicates,  is  faith. 
And  in  this  respect,  it  stands  undoubtedly  on  the 
same  footing  with  every  other  form  of  true  religious 
experience.  Nor  do  I  know  that  the  faith,  which 
is  experienced  in  these  marked  and  triumphant  in- 
stances of  the  religious  life,  is  different  from  what 
is  experienced  in  other  cases,  except  in  the  single 
circumstance  of  degree.  It  is  a  very  high  degree 
of  faith.  The  term  assurance,  which,  in  its  ordin- 
ary acceptation,  excludes  the  idea  of  doubting,  is 
an  evidence  that  it  is  so.  The  phrase,  assurance 
OF  FAITH,  conveys,  in  its  own  terms  and  on  its  own 
face,  the  idea  of  faith  without  doubting,  in  other 
■words,  of  perfect  faith.  Looking  at  the  subject  in 
the  light  of  the  terms  used,  I  think  we  are  at  lib- 
erty to  say,  that  assurance  of  faith  is  synonymous 
with  undoubting  or  perfect  faith.  The  instances 
themselves  of  this  form  of  experience,  whether 
tliey  are  such  as  are  made  known  to  us  historical- 
ly in  the  lives  of  those  who  are  said  to  have  liv- 
ed and  died  in  assurance,  or  such  as  have  come 
within  the  range  and  notice  of  more  recent  obser- 
vations, sustain  this  view.  Those,  who  are  in  the 
enjoyment  of  this  state  of  mind,  are  a  people,  that 
have  an  unwavering  confidence  in  God.  In  the 
language  of  John  Rogers,  the  memorable  martyr  of 
Smithfield,  given  in  a  short  published  account  of 
his  early  religious  experience,  "  they  live  by  faith 
in  the  Son  of  God,  above  the  letter  in  the  life  ; 


118  OF  ASSURANCE  OF  FAITH. 

above  the  form  in  the  power  ;  above  self  in  a 
higher  self;  so  that  they  are  no  longer  them- 
selves ;  but  are  by  the  grace  of  God  what  they  are  ; 
not  doubting,  that  they  shall  appear  perfect  in 
Christ's  righteousness,  being  pardoned  by  his  death, 
purged  by  his  blood,  sanctified  by  his  spirit,  and 
saved  by  his  power." 

We  have  an  instructive  and  precious  illustration 
of  the  state  of  mind,  denominated  assurance  of 
FAITH,  in  the  instances  of  early  saints  mentioned  in 
the  eleventh  chapter  of  Hebrews ;  in  Abel,  who 
"offered  unto  God  a  more  excellent  sacrifice  than 
Cain;"  in  Enoch,  who  "had  this  testimony  that  he 
pleased  God;"  in  Abraham,  "who  went  out,  not 
knowing  whither  he  went,"  and  who,  "  when  he 
was  tried,  offered  up  Isaac;  "  in  Moses,  "who  es- 
teemed the  reproach  of  Christ  greater  riches  than 
the  treasures  of  Egypt ;"  in  Gideon,  Barak,  David, 
Samuel,  and  the  prophets,  of  whom  as  well  as  of 
others  the  testimony  is  given,  that  through  faith 
they  "subdued  kingdoms,  wrought  righteousness, 
obtained  promises,  stopped  the  mouths  of  lions, 
of  whom  the  world  was  not  worthy;"  and  in 
regard  to  whom  it  is  expressly  said,  that  God  him- 
self was  "not  ashamed  to  be  called  their  god." 

As  the  subject  of  an  assured  acceptance  with 
God  is,  in  our  apprehension,  one  of  preeminent  im- 
portance, and  as  it  has  in  these  latter  days  received 
less  attention  than  it  did  formerly  and  far  less  than 
it  deserves,  we  have  thought  it  might  be  proper  to 
introduce  here   an   instructive   passage   from   the 


OF  ASSURANCE  OF  FAITH.  119 

some  persons,  who  supposed,  that  no  such  thing  is 
to  be  expected  in  the  church  of  God  as  a  full  and 
absolute  assurance,  except  in  some  very  extraor- 
dinary circumstances,  such  as  that  of  martyrdom, 
and  asserting  that  this  view  is  contrary  to  the  doc- 
trine of  Protestants  as  maintained  by  their  most 
celebrated  writers,  he  proceeds  as  follows.  "It  is 
manifest,  that  it  was  a  common  thing  for  the  saints 
that  we  have  a  history  or  particular  account  of  in 
Scripture,  to  be  assured.  God,  in  the  plainest  and 
most  positive  manner,  revealed  and  testified  his 
special  favour  to  Noah,  Abraham,  Isaac,  Jacob, 
Moses,  Daniel,  and  others.  Job  often  speaks  of 
his  sincerity  and  uprightness  with  the  greatest  im- 
aginable confidence  and  assurance,  often  calling 
God  to  witness  to  it;  and  says  plainly,  "I  know 
that  my  Redeemer  liveth,  and  that  I  shall  see  him 
for  myself,  and  not  another,"  Job  19.  25,  <fcc.  Da- 
vid, throughout  the  book  of  Psalms,  almost  every- 
where speaks  without  any  hesitancy,  and  in  the 
most  positive  manner,  of  God  as  his  God :  glory- 
ing in  him  as  his  portion  and  heritage,  his  rock  and 
confidence,  his  shield,  salvation,  and  high  tower, 
and  the  like.  Hezekiah  appeals  to  God,  as  one 
that  knew  he  had  walked  before  him  in  truth,  and 
with  a  perfect  heart,  2  Kings  20.  3.  Jesus  Christ, 
in  his  dying  discourse  with  his  eleven  disciples, 
in  the  14th,  15th,  and  16th  chapters  of  John,  (which 
was  as  it  were  Christ's  last  will  and  testament  to 
his  disciples,  and  to  his  whole  church,)  often  de- 
clares his  special  and  everlasting  love  to  them,  in 
the  plainest  and  most  positive  terms ;  and  promises 


120  OF  ASSURANCE  OF  FAITH. 

them  a  future  participation  with  him  in  his  glory, 
in  the  most  absolute  manner ;  and  tells  them  at  the 
same  time,  that  he  does  so,  to  the  end,  that  their 
joy  might  be  full,  John  15.  11.  "  These  things  have 
I  spoken  unto  you,  that  my  joy  might  remain  in 
you,  and  that  your  joy  might  be  full."  See  also 
at  the  conclusion  of  his  whole  discourse,  chap.  16. 
33.  '-These  things  have  I  spoken  unto  you,  that  in 
me  ye  might  have  peace.  In  the  world  ye  shall 
have  tribulation :  but  be  of  good  cheer,  I  have  over- 
come the  world."  Christ  was  not  afraid  of  speak- 
ing too  plainly  and  positively  to  them;  he  did  not 
desire  to  hold  them  in  the  least  suspense.  And  he 
concluded  that  last  discourse  of  his  with  a  prayer 
in  their  presence,  wherein  he  speaks  positively  to 
his  Father  of  those  eleven  disciples,  as  having  all 
of  them  savingly  known  him,  and  believed  in  him, 
and  received  and  kept  his  word ;  and  that  they 
were  not  of  the  world  ;  and  that  for  their  sakes  he 
sanctified  himself;  and  that  his  will  was,  that  they 
should  be  with  him  in  his  glory  :  and  tells  his  Fa- 
ther, that  he  spake  these  things  in  his  prayer,  to 
the  end,  that  his  joy  might  be  fulfilled  in  them, 
ver.  13.  By  these  things  it  is  evident,  that  it  is 
agreeable  to  Christ's  designs,  and  the  contrived  or- 
dering and  disposition  Christ  makes  of  things  in  his 
church,  that  there  should  be  sufficient  and  abun- 
dant provision  made,  that  his  saints  might  have 
full  assurance  of  their  future  glory. 

The  Apostle  Paul,  through  all  his  epistles,  speaks 
in  an  assured  strain ;  ever  speaking  positively  of  his 
special  relation  to  Christ,  his  Lord,  and  Master,  and 


OF  ASSURANCE  OF  FAITH.  121 

Redeemer;  and  his  interest  in,  and  expectation  of 
the  fiilure  reward.  It  would  be  endless  to  take  no- 
tice of  all  places  that  might  be  enumerated;  I  shall 
mention  but  three  or  four.  Gal.  2.  20.  "  Christ  liveth 
in  me :  and  the  life  which  I  now  live  in  the  flesh, 
I  live  by  the  faith  of  the  son  of  God,  who  loved  me 
and  gave  himself  for  me."  Phil.  1.  21.  "For  me  to 
live  is  Christ,  and  to  die  is  gain."  2  Tim.  1.  12.  "I 
know  whom  I  have  believed,  and  I  am  persuaded 
that  he  is  able  to  keep  that  which  I  have  commit- 
ted unto  him  against  that  day."  2  Tim.  4.  7,  8.  "I 
have  fought  a  good  fight,  I  ha^  finished  my  course, 
I  have  kept  the  faith.  Henceforth  there  is  laid  up 
for  me  a  crown  of  righteousness,  which  the  Lord, 
the  righteous  judge  will  give  me  at  that  day." 

And  the  nature  of  the  covenant  of  grace,  and 
God's  declared  ends  in  the  appointment  and  consti- 
tution of  things  in  that  covenant,  do  plainly  shew 
it  to  be  God's  design  to  make  ample  provision  for 
the  saints  having  an  assured  hope  of  eternal  life, 
while  living  here  upon  earth.  For  so  are  all  things 
ordered  and  contrived  in  that  covenant,  that  every- 
thing might  be  made  sure  on  God's  part.  "  The 
covenant  is  ordered  in  all  things  and  sure:"  the 
promises  are  full,  and  very  often  repeated,  and  va- 
rious ways  exhibited ;  and  there  are  many  witnes- 
ses, and  many  seals;  and  God  has  confirmed  his 
promises  with  an  oath.  And  God's  declared  de- 
sign in  all  this  is,  that  the  heirs  of  the  promises 
might  have  an  undoubting  hope,  and  full  joy,  in  an 
assurance  of  their  future  glory.  Heb.  6.  17,  18. 
"  Wherein  God,  willing  more  abundantly  to  shew 
11 


122  OF  ASSURANCE  OF  FAITH. 

unto  the  heirs  of  promise  the  immutability  of  his 
counsel,  confirmed  it  by  an  oath  :  that  by  two  im- 
mutable things,  in  which  it  was  impossible  for  God 
to  lie,  we  might  have  a  strong  consolation,  who 
have  fled  for  refuge  to  lay  hold  on  the  hope  set  be- 
fore us."  But  all  this  would  be  in  vain,  to  any 
such  purpose  as  the  saints'  strong  consolation,  and 
hope  of  their  obtaining  future  glory,  if  their  inter- 
est in  those  sure  promises  in  ordinary  cases  was 
not  attainable.  For  God's  promises  and  oaths,  let 
them  be  as  sure  as  they  will,  cannot  give  strong 
hope  and  comfort  to  any  particular  person,  any 
further  than  he  can  know  that  those  promises  are 
made  to  him.  And  in  vain  is  provision  made  in 
Jesus  Christ,  that  believers  might  be  perfect  as  per- 
taining to  the  conscience,  as  is  signified,  Heb.  9.  9, 
if  assurance  of  freedom  from  the  guilt  of  sin  is  not 
attainable. 

It  further  appears  that  assurance  is  not  only  at- 
tainable in  some  very  extraordinary  cases,  but  that 
all  Christians  are  directed  to  give  all  diligence  to 
make  their  calling  and  election  sure, and  are  told  how 
they  may  do  it,  2  Pet.  1.  5 — 8.  And  it  is  spoken 
of  as  a  thing  very  unbecoming  of  Christians,  and 
an  argument  of  something  very  blameable  in  them, 
not  to  know  whether  Christ  be  in  them  or  no,  2 
Cor.  13.  5.  "Know  ye  not  your  own  selves,  how 
that  Jesus  Christ  is  in  you,  except  ye  be  reprobates?" 
And  it  is  implied  that  it  is  an  argument  of  a  very 
blameable  negligence  in  Christians,  if  they  practice 
Christianity  after  such  a  manner  as  to  remain  un- 
certain of  the  reward,  in  that  1  Cor.  9.  26.     "I 


OF  ASSURANCE  OF  FAITH.  123 

therefore  so  run,  as  not  uncertainly."  And  to  add 
no  more,  it  is  manifest,  that  Christians'  knowing 
their  interests  in  the  saving  benefits  of  Christianity- 
is  a  thing  ordinarily  attainable,  because  the  apos- 
tles tell  us  by  what  means  Christians  (and  not  on- 
ly apostles  and  martyrs)  were  wont  to  know  this; 
1  Cor.  2.  12.  "Now  we  have  received,  not  the 
spirit  of  the  world,  but  the  Spirit  which  is  of  God; 
that  we  might  know  the  things  that  are  freely  giv- 
en to  us  of  God."  And  1  John  2.  3.  "  And  hereby 
we  do  know  that  we  know  him,  if  we  keep  his  com- 
mandments." And  ver.  5.  "  Hereby  fcnow  we  that 
we  are  in  him."  Chap.  3. 14.  "  We  know  that  we 
have  passed  from  death  unto  life,  because  we  love 
the  brethren."  Ver.  19.  "  Hereby  we  know  that 
wc  arc  of  the  truth,  and  shall  assure  our  hearts  be- 
fore him."  Ver.  24.  "  Hereby  we  know  that  he 
abideth  in  us,  by  the  Spirit  which  he  hath  given 
us."  So  Chap.  4.  13,  and  Chap.  5.2,  and  ver.  19."=^ 
Such  are  the  strong  and  well  sustained  state- 
ments of  one,  in  whom  Congregationahsts  have  been 
accustomed  to  place  a  high  degree  of  confidence. 
But  this  form  of  Christian  experience,  and  under 
this  specific  name,  has  not  been  limited  to  one  de- 
nomination. Instances  of  assurance  of  faith  appear 
to  have  been  frequent  among  the  United  Brethren 
or  Moravians,  especially  in  the  early  periods  of 
their  religious  history.  Mr.  Wesley,  the  founder 
of  the  Methodist  societies,  relates,  in  the  Journal  of 
his  Life,  that  he  visited,  in  the  year  1738,  the  Uni- 
ted Brethren  or  Moravians  at  Hernhuth,  the  place 
*  Edwards  on  the  Affections,  Part  II. 


124  OF  ASSURANCE  OF  FAITH. 

Avhere  they  were  first  collected  and  organized  into 
a  society.  At  that  time,  as  well  as  in  later  periods 
of  his  life,  Mr.  Wesley  was  a  careful  and  philosoph- 
ic observer  of  men ;  and  was  particularly  interested 
to  notice  and  to  analyze  the  varieties  of  Christian 
experience  and  character.  And  accordingly  he 
took  pains  to  converse  privately  and  very  intimate- 
ly with  a  number  of  the  Moravian  brethren,  who 
appeared  to  be  leading  men  both  for  their  intellect- 
ual capacity  and  their  piety ;  and  in  his  Journal 
has  recorded  what  he  learnt  from  them.  We  will 
here  give  an  abstract  of  some  of  these  statements; 
particularly  of  those  parts,  which  may  be  consid- 
ered as  illustrating  historically  the  doctrine  and  the 
nature  of  assurance  of  faith,  retaining  precisely 
the  sentiment,  and  as  far  as  possible,  the  expres- 
sion. 

Christian  David. — Having  given  us  to  under- 
stand, that  in  early  life  he  was  a  Roman  Cath- 
olic, this  person  proceeds  to  say,  "  I  was  much 
troubled  at  hearing  some  people  affirm,  that  the 
Pope  was  Antichrist.  I  read  the  Lutheran  books 
written  against  the  Papists,  and  the  Popish  books, 
written  against  the  Lutherans.  I  easily  saw  that 
the  Papists  were  in  the  wrong ;  but  not  that  the 
Lutherans  were  in  the  right.  I  was  in  the  city  of 
Berlin,  when  I  renounced  the  errors  of  Popery. 
After  this  I  led  a  very  strict  life ;  read  much  and 
prayed  much.  I  did  all  I  could  to  conquer  sin ; 
yet  it  profited  not.  I  was  still  conquered  by  it. 
At  length,  not  knowing  what  to  do,  I  enlisted  as  a 
soldier.     I  had  a  Testament  and  a  hymn  bookj 


OF  ASSURANCE  OF  FAITH.  125 

but  in  one  day  both  my  books  were  stolen.  This 
almost  broke  my  heart.  After  six  months  I  left 
the  army,  and  went  to  Gorlitz  in  Saxony.  There 
I  fell  into  a  dangerous  illness.  For  twenty  weeks 
I  could  not  stir  hand  or  foot.  Pastor  Sleder  came 
to  me  every  day.  And  from  him  it  was,  that  the 
Gospel  of  Christ  came  first  with  power  to  my 
soul. 

"  It  was  then  I  found  the  peace  I  had  long  sought 
in  vain.  Not  indeed  all  at  once;  but  by  degrees. 
For  I  could  not  immediately  believe  I  was  forgiv- 
en, because  of  the  mistake  I  was  then  in  concern- 
ing forgiveness.  I  thought  I  was  to  feel  sin  in  me 
no  more,  from  the  time  it  was  forgiven.  There- 
fore, although  I  had  the  mastery  over  sin,  yet  I 
often  feared  it  was  not  forgiven,  because  it  still 
stirred  in  me ;  and  at  some  times  thrust  sore  at  me 
that  I  might  fall.  I  did  not  then  see,  that  the  be- 
ing justified  by  faith  is  Avidely  different  from  hav- 
ing A  FULL  ASSURANCE  of  faith.  I  remembered  not, 
that  our  Lord  told  his  Apostles  before  his  death, 
"Ye  are  clean"  [or  forgiven ;]  whereas  it  was  not 
till  many  days  after  it,  that  they  were  fully  assured, 
by  the  Holy  Ghost  then  received,  of  their  reconcil- 
iation to  God  through  his  blood. 

"After  some  years  I  plainly  perceived,  that  full  as- 
surance of  faith  was  a  distinct  gift  from  justifying 
faith ;  and  often  not  given  till  long  after  it ;  and 
that  justification  does  not  imply,  that  sin  should 
not  stir  in  us,  but  only  that  it  should  not  conquer, 
And  now  first  it  was  that  I  had  full  assurance  of 
my  own  reconciliation,  to  God,  through  Christ. 
11* 


126  OF  ASSURANCE  OF  FAITH. 

For  many  years  I  had  had  the  forgiveness  of  my 
sins,  and  a  measure  of  the  peace  of  God ;  but  I 
had  not  till  now  that  witness  of  his  Spirit,  which 
shuts  out  all  doubt  and  fear.  In  all  my  trials  I  had 
always  a  confidence  in  Christ,  who  had  done  so 
great  things  for  me.  But  it  was  a  confidence,  mix- 
ed with  fear.  I  was  afraid  I  had  not  done  enough. 
There  was  always  something  dark  in  my  soul.    But 

NOW  THE  CLEAR  LIGHT  SHINED." 

Michael  Linner. — The  account  of  the  religious 
experience  of  this  individual,  as  given  by  Mr.  Wes- 
ley, is  so  concise  that  it  will  not  be  necessary  to 
abridge  it.  It  is  as  follows. — "The  Church  of  Mo- 
ravia was  once  a  glorious  Church.  But  it  is  now 
covered  with  thick  darkness.  It  is  about  sixteen 
years  ago  that  I  began  to  seek  for  light.  I  had 
a  New  Testament  which  I  constantly  read  ;  upon 
which  I  often  said  to  myself  '  This  says,  I  ought  to 
be  humble,  and  meek,  and  pure  in  heart.  How 
comes  it  that  I  am  not  so  7 '  I  went  to  the  best  men 
I  knew,  and  asked,  'Is  not  this  the  word  of  God  ? 
And  if  so,  ought  I  not  to  be  such  as  this  requires, 
both  in  heart  and  life  V  They  answered,  'The  first 
Christians  were  such ;  but  it  was  impossible  for  us 
to  be  so  perfect.'  This  answer  gave  me  no  satis- 
faction. I  knew  God  could  not  mock  his  creatures, 
by  requiring  of  them  what  he  saw  it  was  impossi- 
ble for  them  to  perform.  I  asked  others  but  still 
had  the  same  answer,  which  troubled  me  more  and 
more. 

"About  fourteen  years  ago,  I  was  more  than  ever 
convinced  that  I  was  wholly  different  from  what 


OF  ASSURANCE  OF  FAITH.  127 

God  required  me  to  be.  I  consulted  his  word  again 
and  again;  bat  it  spoke  nothing  but  condemnation; 
till  at  last  I  could  not  read,  nor  indeed  do  any  thing 
else,  having  no  hope  and  no  spirit  left  in  me.  I  had 
been  in  this  state  for  several  days,  when,  being  mu- 
sing by  myself,  these  words  came  strongly  into  my 
mind,  'God  so  loved  the  world,  that  he  gave  his 
only-begotten  Son,  to  the  end  that  all  who  beheve 
in  him  should  not  perish  but  have  everlasting  life.' 
I  thought,  '  ^11?  Then  I  am  one.  Then  he  is  giv- 
en for  me.  But  I  am  a  sinner.  And  he  came  to 
save  sinners.'  Immediately  my  burden  dropped 
off,  and  my  heart  was  at  rest. 

"  But  the  full  assurance  of  faith  I  had  not  yet ;  nor 
for  the  two  years  I  continued  in  Moravia.  When 
I  was  driven  out  thence  by  the  Jesuits,  I  retired 
hither,  and  was  soon  after  received  into  the  Church. 
And  here,  after  some  time,  it  pleased  our  Lord  to 
manifest  himself  more  clearly  to  my  soul,  and  give 
me  that  fall  sense  of  acceptance  in  him,  which  ex- 
cludes all  doubt  and  fear. 

"  Indeed  the  leading  of  the  spirit  is  different  in 
different  souls.  His  more  usual  method,  I  believe, 
is,  to  give,  in  one  and  the  same  moment,  the  for- 
giveness of  sins,  and  a  full  assurance  of  that  for- 
giveness. Yet  in  many  he  works  as  he  did  in  me  : 
giving  first  the  remission  of  sins,  and,  after  some 
weeks  or  months  or  years,  the  full  assurance  of  it." 
Zacharias  Neusser. — "I  was  born  on  the  bor- 
ders of  JMoravia ;  and  was  first  awakened  by  my 
cousin  Wensel,  who  soon  after  carried  me  to  hear 
Mr.   Steinmetz,  a  Lutheran  minister,  about  thirty 


128  OF  ASSURANCE  OF  FAITH. 

English  miles  off.  I  was  utterly  astonished.  The 
next  week  I  went  again  :  after  which,  going  to  him 
in  private,  I  opened  my  heart,  and  told  him  all  my 
doubts;  those  especially  concerning  Popery.  He 
offered  to  receive  me  into  communion  with  him, 
which  I  gladly  accepted  of;  and  in  a  short  time  af- 
ter, I  received  the  Lord's  Supper  from  his  hands. 
While  I  was  receiving,  I  felt  Christ  had  died  for 
me.  I  knew  I  was  reconciled  to  God.  And  all  the 
day  I  was  overwhelmed  with  joy;  having  those 
words  continually  on  my  mind,  'This  day  is  salva- 
tion come  to  my  house :  I  also  am  a  son  of  Abra- 
ham.' This  joy  I  had  continually  for  a  year  and 
a  half,  and  my  heart  was  full  of  love  to  Christ. 

"After  this  I  had  thoughts  of  leaving  Moravia. 
I  was  convinced  it  would  be  better  for  my  spul. 
Yet  I  would  not  do  it,  because  I  got  more  money 
here  than  I  could  elsewhere.  When  I  reflected  on 
this,  I  said  to  myself,  'this  is  mere  covetousness. 
But  if  I  am  covetous,  I  am  not  a  child  of  God.' 
Hence  I  fell  into  deep  perplexity,  nor  could  I  find 
any  way  to  escape  out  of  it.  In  this  slavery  and 
misery  I  was  for  five  years ;  at  the  end  of  which 
I  fell  sick.  In  my  sickness  my  heart  was  set  at 
liberty,  and  peace  returned  to  my  soul.  I  now 
prayed  earnestly  to  God  to  restore  my  health,  tha,t 
I  might  leave  Moravia.  He  did  restore  it,  and  I 
immediately  removed  to  Hernhuth.  After  I  had 
been  here  a  quarter  of  a  year,  the  Count  *  preached 
one  day,  upon  the  nature  of  sanctification.  I  found 
I  had  not  experienced  what  he  described,  and  was 
greatly  terrified.  I  went  to  my  cousin  "SVcnsel, 
*  Count  Zinzendorf. 


OF  ASSURANCE  OF  FAITH.  129 

who  advised  me  to  read  over  the  third,  fourth,  and 
fifth  chapters  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans.  I  did 
so.  I  had  read  them  a  hnndred  times  before,  yet 
now  they  appeared  quite  new,  and  gave  me  such 
a  sight  of  God's  justifying  the  ungodly,  as  I  never 
had  before.  On  Sunday  I  went  to  church  at  Ber- 
tholdsdorf ;  and  while  we  were  singing  those  words, 
Wir  glauhen  auch  in  Jesum  Christ, — '  We  believe  al- 
so in  Jesus  Christ,' — I  clearly  saw  him  as  my  Sa- 
viour. I  wanted  immediately  to  be  alone,  and  to 
pour  out  my  heart  before  him.  My  soul  was  filled 
with  thankfulness  ;  and  with  a  still,  soft,  quiet  joy, 
such  as  it  is  impossible  to  express.  I  had  full  as- 
surance that  'my  Beloved '  was  ' mine'  and  '  I '  was 
'his;'  which  has  never  ceased  to  this  day.  I  see 
by  a  clear  light  what  is  pleasing  to  him,  and  I  do 
it  continually  in  love.  I  receive  daily  from  him 
peace  and  joy;  and  1  have  nothing  to  do  but  to 
praise  him." 

Arvid  gradin,  a  Swede  born  in  Dalecarlia.  His 
statement  is  as  follows.  "Before  I  was  ten  years 
old,  I  had  a  serious  sense  of  religion,  and  great  fer- 
vour in  prayer.  This  was  increased  by  my  read- 
ing much  in  the  New  Testament;  but  the  more  I 
read,  the  more  earnestly  I  cried  out,  'Either  these 
things  are  not  true,  or  we  are  not  Christians.' 
About  sixteen  my  sense  of  religion  began  to  decline, 
by  my  too  great  fondness  for  learning,  especially 
the  oriental  tongues,  wherein  I  was  instructed  by 
a  private  preceptor,  who  likewise  did  all  that  in 
him  lay  to  instruct  me  in  true  divinity. 

"At  seventeen  I  went  to  the  University  of  Upsal, 


130  OF  ASSURANCE  OF  FAITH. 

and  a  year  or  two  after  was  licensed  to  preach. 
But  at  twenty-two,  meeting  with  Arndt's  'True 
Christianity,'  I  found  I  myself  was  not  a  Christian. 
Immediately  I  left  off  preaching,  and  betook  myself 
wholly  to  philosophy.  This  stifled  all  my  convic- 
tions for  some  years ;  but  when  I  was  about  twen- 
ty-seven, they  revived,  and  continued  the  year 
after,  Avlien  I  was  desired  to  be  domestic  tutor  to 
the  children  of  the  secretary  of  state.  I  now  felt  I 
was  'carnal,  sold  under  sin,'  and  continually  strug- 
gled to  burst  the  bonds,  till  (being  about  thirty-one 
years  old)  I  was  unawares  entangled  in  much 
worldly  business.  This  cooled  me  in  my  pursuit 
of  holiness ;  yet  for  a  year  and  a  half  my  heart 
was  never  at  peace.  Being  then  in  a  bookseller's 
shop,  I  saw  the  account  of  the  Church  at  Hernhuth. 
I  did  not  think  there  could  be  any  such  place,  and 
asked  the  bookseller  if  that  was  a  real  account. 
His  answer,  'that  it  was  no  more  than  the  plain 
truth,'  threw  me  into  deep  thought  and  fervent 
prayer,  that  God  would  bring  me  to  that  place. 
I  went  to  the  secretary  and  told  him  I  did  not  de- 
sign to  stay  at  Upsal,  having  a  desire  to  travel. 
He  said,  he  had  a  desire  his  son  should  travel ;  and 
was  glad  of  an  opportunity  to  send  him  with  me. 
I  was  grieved,  but  knew  not  how-to  refuse  any 
thing  to  my  patron  and  benefactor.  Accordingly 
we  left  Upsal  together,  and,  after  a  year  spent  in 
several  parts  of  Germany,  went  through  Holland 
mto  France,  and  so  to  Paris,  where  we  spent 
another  year.  But  I  was  more  and  more  uneasy, 
till  I  could  be  disengaged  from  my  charge,  that  I 


OF  ASSURANCE  OF  FAITH,  131 

might  retire  to  Hernhuth.  In  our  return  from 
France,  my  pupil's  elder  brother  returning  from 
Italy  met  us  at  Leipsig.  I  immediately  wrote  to 
his  father,  and  having  obtained  his  consent,  deliv- 
ered him  into  his  hands. 

"April  23,  1738,  1  came  hither.  Here  I  was 
in  another  world.  I  desired  nothing  but  to  be 
cleansed  inwardly  and  outwardly  from  sin,  by 
the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ.  I  found  all  here  laying 
the  same  foundation.  Therefore,  though  I  did  not 
think  with  them  in  all  points  of  doctrine,  I  waived 
these,  and  singly  pursued  reconciliation  with  God 
through  Christ. 

"On  the  22d  of  May  last,  I  could  think  of  noth- 
ing but,  'He  that  believeth  hath  everlasting  life.' 
But  I  was  afraid  of  deceiving  myself,  and  contin- 
ually prayed  I  might  not  build  without  a  founda- 
tion. Yet  I  had  a  sweet,  settled,  peace,  and  for 
five  days  this  Scripture  was  always  in  my  thoughts. 
On  the  28tli  those  words  of  our  Lord  were  strong- 
ly impressed  upon  me,  'If  ye,  being  evil,  know  how 
to  give  good  gifts  to  your  children,  how  much  more 
shall  your  Heavenly  Father  give  the  Holy  Ghost 
to  them  that  ask  him  7'  At  the  same  time  I  was 
incessantly  carried  out  to  ask,  that  he  would  give 
me  the  witness  of  his  Spirit.  On  the  29th  I  had 
what  I  asked  of  him,  namely,  the  plerophoria  or 
FULL  ASSURANCE  OF  FAITH,  wliich  is  reposc  ill  the 
blood  of  Christ;  a  firm  confidence  in  God  and  per- 
suasion of  his  favor;  serene  peace  and  steadfast 
tranquillity  of  mind,  with  a  deliverance  from  ev- 
ery fleshly  desire,  and  from  every  outward  and  in- 


132  OF  ASSURANCE  OF  FAITH. 

ward  sin.  In  a  word,  my  heart,  which  before  was 
tossed  like  a  troubled  sea,  was  still  and  quiet,  aod 
in  a  sweet  calm." 

We  would  add  here  that  the  United  Brethren  or 
Moravians,  in  the  early  periods  of  their  existence 
as  a  separate  denomination,  were  inclined  to  the 
view,  that  there  is  no  true  and  saving  faith  with- 
out assurance  of  faith;  and  that  justification  and 
sanctification  are  either  the  same  thing  or  are  so 
nearly  allied  that  there  is  no  true  evidence  of  the 
former  without  an  entire  experience  of  the  latter. 
According  to  the  testimony  of  Christian  David,  of 
whose  personal  experience  some  account  has  been 
given,  they  were  accustomed  to  inquire  of  those, 
who  proposed  themselves  for  full  membership  in 
the  Church,  whether  they  were  assured,  beyond  all 
doubt,  that  they  were  the  children  of  God?  In 
what  manner  and  at  what  time  they  received  that 
assurance  ?  Whether  they  were  so  renewed  in  the 
image  of  God,  that  all  sin,  or  "  the  whole  body  of 
sin,"  as  he  expresses  it,  was  destroyed  in  them? 
And  if  the  person  could  not  satisfactorily  answer 
questions  of  this  kind  and  to  this  effect,  he  asserts, 
"  we  judged,  that  he  had  no  true  faith.  Nor  would 
we  permit  any  to  receive  the  Lord's  supper  among 
us,  till  he  could."  On  further  inquiry  into  the  sub- 
ject and  additional  experience  of  the  manner  of 
God's  dealing  with  his  people,  they  abandoned 
this  view  as  in  some  important  respects  incorrect, 
and  adopted  the  doctrine  of  faith  as  existing  in  dif- 
ferent degrees ;  and  recognized  the  faith  of  forgive- 
ness, in  connection  with  which  a  person  may  be 


OF  ASSURANCE  OF  FAITH.  133 

pardoned  in  the  first  instance,  as  well  as  that  of 
assurance,  which  is  generally  later  in  one's  experi- 
ence, and  results  in  purity  of  heart  and  inward 
victory.  Assurance  of  faith,  however,  continued 
to  be  a  leading  and  most  important  doctrine ;  and 
every  one  was  expected  to  strive  earnestly  for  its 
attainment.  And  probably  among  no  denomina- 
tion of  Christians,  in  proportion  to  their  whole 
number,  have  more  frequent  instances  of  this  en- 
nobling and  triumphant  experience  been  found, 
than  among  the  United  Brethren. 

But  it  is  proper  to  say,  that  the  doctrine  and  the 
personal  experience  of  assurance  of  faith  have  not 
been  limited  to  the  Christian  denominations,  which 
so  far  have  been  particularly  referred  to.  A  care- 
ful inquiry  would  abundantly  show,  that  this  im- 
portant doctrine,  which  recognizes  a  state  of  mind 
existing  in  sweet  purity  and  peace,  in  reverential 
and  affectionate  communion  with  God,  in  freedom 
from  doubts  and  fears,  in  constant  prayer,  in  vic- 
tory over  every  known  and  voluntary  transgres- 
sion, in  the  baptism  and  in-dwelling  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  has  been  admitted,  defended,  and  preached 
by  Episcopalians  and  Presbyterians,  and  i)robably 
by  a  number  of  other  sects  of  Christians,  as  well  as 
by  Congregationalists  and  Moravians.  And  many 
among  the  dead,  who  yet  speak  in  their  recorded 
memorials,  and  some  we  trust  among  the  living 
can  bear  a  convincing  and  experimental  testimony 
to  its  truth  and  preciousness.  It  would  be  a  pleas- 
ing task,  if  our  limits  would  allow,  to  repeat  here, 
in  the  case  of  individuals  both  dead  and  living,  the 
12 


J  34  OF  ASSURANCE  OF  FAITH. 

delightful  facts,  which  warrant  and  confirm  this 
declaration.  Saying  nothing,  however,  of  many- 
other  instances,  which  are  vividly  present  to  our 
recollection,  it  seems  to  us,  that  the  pious  archbishop 
Leighton  was  a  man,  that,  in  the  later  periods  of 
his  life  at  least,  enjoyed  assurance  of  faith ;  and, 
on  the  principle  which  he  himself  has  laid  down, 
viz.  that  love  will  be  in  proportion  to  faith,  that  he 
possessed  what  may  very  properly  be  called  an 
assured  or  perfected  state  of  love.  His  American 
biographer  speaks  of  him  in  the  following  terms, 
which,  decided  and  emphatic  as  they  are,  will 
probably  command  the  assent  of  candid  and  serious 
persons,  who  have  thoroughly  studied  the  Arch- 
bishop's religious  character. 

After  remarking  that  his  piety  was  eminently  a 
meditative  piety,  he  proceeds  to  say,  "Whether  in 
the  midst  of  this  world's  scenes,  or  in  perfect  retire- 
ment, Leighton' s  thoughts  were  always  fixed  upon 
the  world  whither  he  was  tending.  Religious  med- 
itation seemed  the  involuntary  habit  of  his  soul ; 
and  in  this  was  exemplified  the  profound  truth  of 
his  own  remark,  that  "the  pure  love  of  God  ma- 
keth  the  spirit  pure  and  simple,  and  so  free,  that 
without  any  pain  and  labor  it  can  at  all  times  turn 
and  recollect  itself  in  God."  If  duty  drew  him 
from  seclusion,  it  was  to  watch  and  pray  lest  he 
should  enter  into  temptation ;  and  amidst  the  most 
absorbing  earthly  business,  if  his  thoughtful  face 
were  of  a  clear  transparency,  and  you  could  have 
looked  through  the  casement  of  his  soul  far  into 
the  depths  of  its  retirement,  you  would  there  have 


OF  ASSURANCE  OF  FAITH.  135 

seen  the  high  purposes  of  God  still  ripening  and 
fulfilling,  and  the  process  of  growing  holiness  ad- 
vancing as  certainly  and  uninterruptedly  as  it 
would  in  the  most  sacred  oratory  of  private  devo- 
tion. He  thought  that  in  this  world  the  Christian's 
white  robe  would  be  very  likely  to  be  entangled 
and  defiled,  if  he  wore  it  too  flowingly  : — 
He  would  not  soil  those  pure  ambrosial  weeds 
With  the  rank  vapors  of  this  sin- worn  mould. 

"Our  only  safest  way,"  said  he,  "is  to  gird  up 
our  affections  wholly.  When  we  come  to  the  place 
of  our  rest,  we  may  wear  our  long  white  robes  at 
full  length  without  disturbance;  for  no  unclean 
thing  is  there ;  ^'■ea  the  streets  of  that  New  Jerusa- 
lem are  paved  with  gold." 

He  was  a  stranger  and  a  pilgrim  on  the  earth, 
and  he  felt  that  he  was  such.  He  had  no  more 
motive  to  partake  in  the  toils  and  anxieties  of  this 
life,  than  an  angel  would  feel,  commissioned  on 
some  errand  of  mercy  to  the  dwelling-place  of  mor- 
tals, who  stays  only  till  he  may  perform  the  man- 
date of  his  sovereign,  and  is  glad  to  return  from 
the  atmosphere  of  earth  to  the  light  of  his  Father's 
countenance,  to  his  home  of  glory  in  the  skies. 
Though  present  in  the  body,  he  was  absent  in  the 
spirit  with  his  Lord  and  Master.  Amidst  his  fel- 
low-mortals in  all  the  concerns  of  this  life  he  walk- 
ed and  acted  like  a  man  in  a  dream — a  dream,  from 
which  he  was  then  only  to  awake,  when  he  passed 
into  the  blissful  presence  of  his  ascended  Saviour. 
/  shall  be  satisfied,  when  I  awake,  with  thy  likeness. 
And  though  into  all  the  business  which  duty  re^ 


136  OF  ASSURANCE  OF  FAITH. 

quired  of  him,  he  entered  with  a  grave  intensity 
to  fulfil  the  Apostle's  injunction,  yet  all  this  while 
his  soul  was  conversing  in  heaven,  for  he  looked 
with  the  eye  of  faith  on  the  things  unseen  and  eter- 
nal. In  the  emphatic  words  of  Paul,  he  was  dead, 
and  his  life  was  hid  with  Christ  in  God.  He  was 
altogether  Christ's ;  His  image  was  always  before 
him ;  His  words  always  invited  him  to  glory. 

I  hear  a  voice,  you  cannot  hear, 

Forbidding  me  to  stay  ; 
I  see  a  hand,  you  cannot  see, 

Which  beckons  me  away. 

He  thought  nothing,  desired  nothing,  did  nothing, 
with  which  the  idea  of  his  Redeemer  was  not  con- 
nected. His  conversation  was  like  that  of  Moses 
and  Elias  on  the  mount  of  transfiguration ;  or  like 
what  we  might  suppose  one  of  the  spirits  of  the 
just  made  perfect  would  exhibit,  if  he  returned  to 
dwell  again  for  a  short  period  among  the  inhabi- 
tants of  earth.  With  what  sweetness,  what  delica- 
cy, he  was  accustomed  perpetually  to  recur  to  the 
themes  nearest  and  dearest  to  his  heart,  progression 
in  holiness,  the  rest  of  the  saints,  the  hour  of  his 
departure,  the  things  which  eye  hath  not  seen, 
awaiting  him  in  Eternity.  Jesus,  dwelling  in  his 
heart  by  faith,  and  formed  within  him,  the  hope 
of  glory.  "When,"  said  he,  "will  the  day  break, 
and  the  shadows  flee  away?"  jf  It  is  not,"  he 
would  say,  "the  want  of  religious  houses,  but  of 
spiritual  hearts,  that  glues  the  wing  of  our  affec- 
tions, and  hinders  the  more  frequent  practice  of 
this  leading  precept  of  the  divine  law, — fervently 


OF  ASSURANCE  OF  FAITH.  137 

to  lift  up  our  souls  unto  God,  and  to  have  our  con- 
versation in  heaven.";  There  cannot  be  a  doubt 
that  his  rules  and  in^ructions  for  a  holy  life  are  a 
transcript  from  his  own  experience.  It  would  be 
impossible  for  any  but  a  very  holy  man  to  rise  even 
to  the  imagination  of  a  life  so  celestial,  or  to  com- 
pose in  such  a  flowing  strain  of  angelical  devotion 
to  God.  These  rules  are  a  mild  still  voice  from 
the  innermost  holy  of  holies  in  a  heart  where  God 
reigns  supremely  and  alone.  Sometimes  in  me- 
morials of  this  nature  there  is  a  repulsive  coldness 
and  austerity ;  here,  as  in  the  character  of  which 
these  instructions  are  a  portrait,  the  sanctity  de- 
lineated is  attractive,  gentle,  serene.  It  is  a  pure 
streamlet  which  has  found  its  way  into  a  world  of 
sin,  from  the  river  of  the  water  of  life  clear  as 
chrystal.  It  breathes  a  divine  fragrancy  and  car- 
ries the  soul  silently  up  to  rest  in  its  contemplations 
at  the  throne  of  God  and  the  Lamb."  =^ 

In  conclusion,  I  would  make  an  additional  re- 
mark, which  seems  appropriate  to  a  full  view  of 
the  subject.  <<It  is  probably  true,  that  persons  en- 
joying assurance  of  faith,  in  those  denominations 
of  Christians  where  that  phraseology  is  expressive 
of  the  highest  form  of  Christian  experience,  have 
generally  exhibited  a  degree  of  hesitancy  and  re- 
luctance, in  recognizing  themselves  as  "sanctified 
persons,"  as  "holy  persons,"  as  "perfected  in  love," 
as  "  saints,"  and  the  hke.  Nor  have  others,  who 
have  been   members  of  the  same   denominations, 

*  See  Cheever's  Ed.  of  the  Select  Works  of  Archbishop 
Leighton. 

12» 


138  OF  ASSURANCE  OF  FAITH. 

been  in  the  practice,  except  occasionally,  of  em- 
ploying such  epithets  and  expressions  in  relation 
to  them.  Conscious  of  their  physical  and  intel- 
lectual imperfections,  knowing  their  liability  to  er- 
rors of  judgment  and  their  consequent  liability  to 
mistaken  and  relatively  wrong  feelings,  beset  every 
where  and  sometimes  deeply  afflicted  by  heavy 
temptations,  and  feeling  that  they  needed  every 
moment  the  application  of  Christ's  blood,  it  is  not 
altogether  surprising,  especially  in  connection  with 
some  accessory  influences,  that  there  should  have 
been  some  hesitation,  both  in  themselves  and  in 
others,  in  making  a  personal  application  of  the 
epithets  and  expressions  in  question.  But  that 
such  expressions,  however  commendable  a  due  de- 
gree of  modesty  and  reserve  always  is,  are  proper; 
and  that  they  ought  in  justice,  on  their  appropriate 
occasions,  to  be  applied  to  such  persons,  I  cannot 
doubt.  Persons,  who  are  in  the  assurance  of  faith, 
are  not  merely  "professors  of  religion,"  as  the 
modern  expression  is  ;  but  are  Christians  ;  and  that 
too  in  the  highest  sense  of  the  term.  They  have 
laid  themselves  upon  the  altar  of  God ;  they  have 
separated  themselves  from  every  known  iniquity  ; 
they  can  say  without  hesitation  that  they  have  no 
desire  but  for  God's  glory ;  they  are  continually 
guided  by  the  Holy  Spirit ;  they  have  been  enabled 
to  appropriate  the  great  and  precious  promises ;  in 
their  moral  nature  and  in  their  affections  they  bear 
distinctly  the  image  of  Christ;  in  a  word,  they 
have  devoted  their  whole  being  to  God,  and  noth- 
ing is  so  dreadful  to  them,  as  a  violation  of  his  will, 


OF  ASSURANCE  OF  FAITH.  139 

even  in  the  smallest  thing.  With  such  dispositions 
and  purposes  of  heart,  I  cannot  see,  why  they  may 
not  be  described,  in  the  form  of  expression  which  is 
sometimes  employed,  as  "perfected  in  love ;"  and 
why  they  may  not  as  properly  be  called  "sancti- 
fied," "holy  ones,"  or  "saints,"  as  many  others,  to 
whom  these  expressions  have  been  applied  both  in 
later  and  in  earlier  times.  But  the  propriety  of 
these  remarks  will  perhaps  more  fully  appear  by 
a  reference  to  the  doctrine  contained  in  one  of  the 
following  chapters,  where  the  precise  relation  be- 
tween assurance  of  faith  and  perfection  of  love  is 
particularly  pointed  out.  ,. 


CHAPTER  THIRTEENTH. 


Relation  of  consecration  to  assurance  of  Faith. 


It  can  hardly  be  necessary  to  say  any  thing,  in  ad- 
dition to  what  has  already  been  said,  in  ilhistration 
of  the  great  importance  of  that  state  of  mind,  which 
is  denominated  assurance  of  faith.  He,  who  truly 
desires  the  blessed  experience  of  holiness  of  heart, 
will  necessarily  attach  a  high  value  to  the  posses- 
sion of  Assurance;  because  holiness,  in  the  Gos- 
pel or  evangelical  sense  of  the  term,  is  obviously 
identical  with  perfection  of  love.  And  perfection  of 
love,  as  we  shall  have  occasion  to  notice  more  par- 
ticularly in  a  subsequent  chapter,  is  the  natural  re- 
sult of  perfection  or  assurance  of  faith. 

In  respect  to  the  nature  of  assurance  of  faith,  we 
may  remark  here,  after  an  examination  of  various 
statements  and  illustrations  on  the  subject,  that  it 
appears  to  consist  essentially  in  two  things  ;  first, 
in  a  general  but  unwavering  confidence  in  God's 
character,  administration,  and  promises;  and,  sec- 
ondly, in  a  confident  belief  of  our  personal  accept- 
ance with  God  through  Christ.  And  accordingly 
it  is  not  limited  to  the  second  particular,  as  some 
persons  may  be  inclined  to  suppose ;  but  the  second 


RELATION  OF  CONSECRATION.  141 

element,  viz.  that  of  a  particular  or  personal  accep- 
tance, which  probably,  in  the  popular  view  of  it,  is 
the  striking  or  characteristic  trait,  has  its  basis  in  a 
prevailing  or  assured  faith  of  a  more  general  char- 
acter. 

With  these  remarks  we  proceed  to  enter  on  the 
principal  topic  of  the  present  Chapter,  viz.  the  rela- 
tion [existing  between  consecration  and  assurance. — We 
have  already  had  occasion,  particularly  in  the  third 
chapter,  to  refer  to  the  relation,  existing  between 
consecration  and  faith  in  general.  Faith,  (especially 
that  faith,  which  is  appropriating  and  purifying,) 
and  the  commission  of  known  sin  cannot  go  togeth- 
er. They  are  mutually  antagonistical  and  destruc- 
tive of  each  other.  Just  so  far  as  consecration, 
which  implies  a  fixed  determination  with  divine 
assistance  to  resist  sin  in  all  its  forms,  actually  ex- 
ists and  no  further,  is  the  way  open  for  the  princi- 
ple of  faith,  especially  in  its  appropriating  character, 
to  enter  and  to  take  effect  in  the  soul.  The  Savior 
himself  has  explicitly  taught  us,  (John  5  :  44,)  that 
those,  who,  in  the  spirit  of  self-seeking,  pursue 
worldly  honor,  and  not  the  honor  which  cometh 
from  God  only,  are  unable,  in  the  religious  sense  of 
the  expression,  to  believe. 

(1.) — But  proceeding  from  the  more  general 
view  of  the  subject  to  the  particular  and  specific 
one  now  under  consideration,  we  remark  in  the 
first  place,  that  assurance  of  faith,  like  all  other 
forms  of  religious  faith  considered  in  distinction 
from  natural  faith,  is  the  gift  of  God.  No  one  has 
it  without  the  divine  blessing.      But  here,  as  in 


142  RELATION  OF  CONSECRATION 

every  other  case  of  God's  dealings,  we  see  no  other 
course  but  to  take  the  position  as  almost  a  self-ev- 
ident one,  that  there  are  reasons  in  the  divine  mind 
for  every  occurrence  or  fact  and  also  for  every 
modification  of  the  divine  conduct ;  and  that  God, 
in  imparting  the  immense  blessing  of  assurance  of 
faith,  does  not,  and  cannot  act  accidentally.  In 
other  words,  there  is  some  antecedent  fact,  some 
preparatory  condition,  in  connection  with  which 
this  great  blessing  takes  place.  Not  a  meritorious 
condition,  it  is  true ;  nothing  which  lays  God  under 
obligation;  but  still  a  preparatory  antecedent  or 
condition  actually  existing  in  the  view  of  the  Di- 
vine Mind,  and  as  an  indispensable  part  of  the  di- 
vine arrangement.  And  that  condition,  as  the  mat- 
ter presents  itself  to  our  view,  is  consecration.  Not 
a  consecration  in  part,  but  in  whole.  If,  with 
any  inferior  degree  of  consecration  there  may  be 
an  inferior  degree  of  faith,  there  cannot  be  a  per- 
fection or  assurance  of  faith,  without  a  consecra- 
tion corresponding  to  it.  It  must,  therefore,  be  a 
consecration,  such  as  was  described  in  the  chapter 
on  that  subject,  both  of  body  and  of  spirit,  both  of 
persons  and  of  possessions,  entire,  permanent,  and 

IRREVOCABLE. 

(2.) — We  proceed  to  mention,  secondly,  Some 
considerations  in  support  of  this  view,  viz.  that  en- 
tire consecration  is,  and  must  be,  the  antecedent 
condition  of  entire  or  full  assurance. — Assurance  of 
faith,  as  the  phrase  is  commonly  employed  by  wri- 
ters, and  as  we  have  already  had  occasion  to  no- 
tice, is  used  not  only  to  express  an  entire  and  per- 


TO  ASSURANCE  OF  FAITH.  143 

feet  confidence  on  the  part  of  those  who  possess  it, 
in  the  character  and  administration  of  God ;  but 
also  in  their  own  personal  acceptance  with  God 
through  Christ.  They  have  no  doubt,  on  the  one 
hand,  of  the  truth,  mercy,  and  justice  of  God ;  nor 
liave  they  any  doubts,  on  the  other,  that  they  are 
the  beloved  children  of  God ;  and  that,  in  entire  con- 
sistency with  his  truth  and  justice,  are  fully  accep- 
ted of  Him.  Such  is  the  nature  of  their  assurance. 
But  we  hazard  nothing  in  saying,  that  it  is  impos- 
sible for  a  man  to  believe  with  assurance  of  faith, 
that  he  is  fully  accepted  of  God,  which  is  one  of 
the  leading  elements,  though  not  the  only  one,  in 
the  state  of  mind  denominated  assurance,  while  he 
is  knowingly  sinning  against  Him;  which,of  course, 
he  must  be  regarded  as  doing,  so  long  as  he  re- 
mains unwilling  to  consecrate  himself  It  is  im- 
possible, among  other  things,  because  it  is  contra- 
ry to  the  natural  operations  of  the  human  mind  in 
all  analogous  cases.  It  is  just  as  impossible,  (re- 
peating here  an  illustration  of  the  subject  which 
has  been  already  employed,)  as  it  is  for  us  to  be- 
lieve that  a  man,  whom,  we  are  injuring  and  ill- 
treating  every  day,  and  whom  we  also  know  to  be 
acquainted  with  our  evil  conduct,  can  regard  us  as 
a  friend.  There  is  something,  in  such  a  case,  in 
the  nature  of  a  moral  contradiction.  The  two 
things  cannot  go  together. 

And,  furthermore,  it  is  impossible,  because  such 
a  belief,  viz.  that  God  does  fully  and  cordially  ac- 
cept of  us,  while  we  are  withholding  the  entire  con- 
secration of  our  bodies  and  our   spirits,  and   are 


144  RELATION  OF  CONSECRATION 

therefore  knowingly  sinning  against  him,  evident- 
ly implies  a  conviction  on  the  part  of  the  person 
who  is  the  subject  of  the  belief,  that  God  is  not  ne- 
cessarily displeased  and  offended  with  sin.  A  view 
of  things  alike  contrary  to  reason,  the  character  of 
God,  and  the  Scriptures ;  and  therefore  not  reason- 
ably to  be  expected  in  any  one. — We  are  constrain- 
ed, therefore,  to  draw  the  conclusion,  (a  conclusion 
which  we  think  might  be  sustained  by  other  con- 
siderations,) that  assured  confidence  in  the  charac- 
ter and  administration  of  God,  combined  with  the 
additional  element  of  assured  faith  in  our  present 
acceptance  with  Him,  cannot  exist,  except  in  con- 
nection with  entire  consecration.  In  other  words, 
we  must  be  conscious  of  doing  all  that  we  can  do 
in  the  fulfilment  of  God's  holy  will ;  of  separating 
ourselves  from  every  voluntary  transgression;  of 
discharging  with  divine  aid  every  known  duty ;  of 
laying  all  our  powers,  possessions,  and  gifts  delib- 
erately upon  the  divine  altar,  and  without  any  in- 
tention of  ever  resuming  them.  The  man,  who 
is  truly  set  apart  to  God  in  consecration,  strives 
and  prays  continually,  that  he  may  not,  in  the 
smallest  thing,  offend  his  heavenly  Father.  He 
would  infinitely  prefer  death  to  known  transgres- 
sion, even  the  slightest  transgression. 

In  this  state  of  mind,  it  is  easy  to  see,  that  there 
is  a  natural  basis  for  the  exercise  of  faith,  particu- 
larly the  faith  of  personal  acceptance,  in  the  high- 
est degree.  In  such  a  state  of  things,  when  the 
obstacles,  which  previously  existed,  are  removed, 
the  soul  naturally  turns  to  God;  naturally  relies 


TO  ASSURANCE  OF  FAITH.  145 

upon  him.  It  becomes  easy  to  believe,  when  be- 
fore it  was  found  very  difficult.  The  Holy  Spirit 
enters  and  operates  without  obstruction  in  a  mind, 
which  is  in  this  position.  The  promises  are  read- 
ily received.  Such  a  soul  feels,  that  it  would  be 
sin  to  doubt ;  and  thus,  with  the  divine  blessing,  it 
rises  superior  to  every  degree  of  hesitation,  and  en- 
ters into  the  rest  of  assurance. 

(3.) — Perhaps  it  should  be  added  further,  in  or- 
der to  meet  an  inquiry  naturally  arising  in  the 
minds  of  some,  that  faith  in  the  highest  degree  or 
assurance  of  faith,  although  we  have  reason  to 
think  it  never  fails  to  follow  the  act  of  Consecration 
sooner  or  later  in  the  case  of  minds  not  unfavora- 
bly affected  by  some  physical  or  mental  disorder, 
does  not  always  immediately  follow  such  consecra- 
ting act.  There  are  various  incidental  causes, 
which  sometimes  operate  to  check  and  diminisli 
the  exercise  of  assurance  of  faith  for  a  time,  not- 
withstanding the  dedicating  or  consecrating  act; 
such  as  a  general  ignorance  on  the  subject  of  faith, 
and  particularly  previous  habits  of  unbelief,  the 
unfavorable  influence  of  which  does  not  always 
cease  at  once.  And  it  is  not  irrational  to  suppose, 
that  there  may  also  be  reasons  existing  in  the  mind 
of  God,  but  unknown  to  us,  why  he  should  see  fit 
to  delay  temporarily  the  bestovvment  of  this  great 
gift,  especially  in  that  particular,  which  relates  to 
our  personal  acceptance  and  safety.  Accordingly 
it  is  said  in  Hebrews  10:  36,  37,  "Ye  have  nead 
of  patience,  that,  after  ye  have  done  the  will  of 

13 


146  RELATION  OF  CONSECRATION 

God,  ye  might  receive  the  promise ;  for  yet  a  little 
while,  and  he,  that  shall  come,  will  come,  and  will 
not  tarry."  But  God  does  not  delay,  even  for  the 
"  yet  a  little  while,"  arbitrarily  and  without  rea- 
son, although  we  may  be  ignorant  what  that  rea- 
son is.  I  believe  it  is  a  common  and  correct  opin- 
ion, that  the  delay  exists  only  so  long  as  God  sees 
best  for  the  person  himself.  In  other  words,  he  de- 
lays, in  order  to  wean  him  more  effectually  from 
all  reliance  upon  any  thing  but  simple,  childlike 
trust  in  the  divine  word ;  and  thus  to  prepare  him 
for  the  reception  of  the  blessing  under  the  most  fa- 
vorable circumstances.  There  is  perhaps  some 
hidden  tendency,  which  is  scarcely  known  to  the 
individual  himself,  such  as  a  disposition  to  look  for 
some  specific  sign  or  manifestation,  or  something 
of  that  nature,  which  remains  to  be  smitten  and 
crucified;  and  which,  there  is  no  doubt,  will  be 
crucified  and  taken  out  of  the  way,  as  soon  as  the 
person  himself  learns,  in  connection  with  God's 
continued  dealings  with  him,  where  and  what  it  is. 
But  I  do  not  suppose  that  God  will  thus  withhold 
himself,  even  for  a  moment,  from  one  who  is  fully 
prepared  for  him  in  all  respects  ;  and  who,  in  con- 
nection with  the  fact  of  entire  consecration,  is  truly 
willing,  irrespective  of  joys  and  sorrows,  of  human 
aid  and  opposition,  of  the  hght  of  vision,  and  of  the 
terrors  of  darkness,  to  live  in  that  simple  and  mys- 
terious way  of  FAITH  ALONE. 

"  Come  ye  out  from  among  them  and  be  ye  sep- 
arate, saith  the  Lord,  and  touch  not  the  unclean 


TO  ASSURANCE  OF  FAITH.  147 

THING ;  and  I  will  receive  you  and  will  be  a  Fath- 
er unto  you,  and  ye  shall  be  my  sons  and  my 
daughters,  saith  the  Lord  Almighty." 


Glory  to  God  alone. 

"  Oh  Loved !  but  not  enough,  though  dearer  far, 
"  Than  self,  and  its  most  loved  enjoyments  are  ; 
<'  None  duly  loves  Thee,  but  who,  nobly  free 
«  From  sensual  objects,  iinds  his  am.  in  Thee. 

"  Glory  of  God !  thou  stranger  here  below, 
"  "Whom  man  nor  knows,  nor  feels  a  wish  to  know  ; 
"  Our  faith  and  reason  are  both  shocked  to  find 
"  Man  in  the  post  of  honor,  Thee  behind. 

"  My  soul !  rest  happy  in  thy  low  estate, 
"  Nor  hope,  nor  wish,  to  be  esteemed  or  great. 
"To  take  the  impression  of  a  Will  Divine, 
"  Be  that  thy  glory,  and  those  riches  thine. 

"  Confess  Him  righteous  in  his  just  decrees, 

"  Love  what  He  loves,  and  let  his  pleasures  please  ; 

"  Die  daily  ;  from  the  touch  of  sin  recede  ; 

"  Then  thou  hast  crowned  Him,  and  he  reigns  indeed. 


CHAPTER  FOURTEENTH. 


Relation  of  Assurance  of  Faith  and  Perfect  Love. 


In  the  preceding  Chapter  we  have  endeavored  to 
explain  the  relation  of  Consecration  to  Assurance 
of  faith.  But  assurance  also,  as  well  as  consecra- 
tion, has  its  relationships.  In  particular,  assurance 
or  perfection  of  faith  and  perfection  of  love  are 
closely  and  inseparably  connected.  And  it  becomes 
an  interesting  and  in  many  respects  an  important 
inquiry,  What  is  the  precise  relation,  which  they 
sustain  to  each  other  1 

(1.) — Accordingly  we  proceed  to  remark,  in  the 
first  place,  that  they  hold  the  relation  of  antece- 
dence and  SEQUENCE.  Assurance  of  faith  natural- 
ly and  necessarily  precedes  assurance  or  perfection 
of  love.  We  are  aware,  that  some  theologians, 
and  theologians  too,  not  wanting  in  powers  of 
thought,  have  exhibited  a  disposition  to  reverse 
this  order,  and  to  place  love  first  in  time ;  thus  ma- 
king love  the  foundation  of  faith,  and  perfection  of 
love  the  foundation  of  assurance  or  perfection  of 
faith.  But  it  must  be  acknowledged  it  is  difficult 
to  see,  how  such  a  position  of  things  as  this  can 
commend  itself  either  to  the  light  of  reason,  or  to 


RELATION  OF  ASSURANCE  OF  FAITH,  149 

the  plain  language  and  statements  of  the  Scrip- 
tures. How  is  it  possible,  looking  at  the  subject 
in  the  light  of  nature  merely,  if  we  have  no  confi- 
dence in  God,  no  faith  in  his  character,  that  we 
should  love  Him  ?  What  are  the  principles  of  nat- 
ural love?  Undoubtedly  this  important  affection 
of  the  human  heart  has  its  principles  or  laws  both 
of  origin  and  progress.  And  it  becomes,  therefore, 
a  proper  and  interesting  inquiry,  in  what  way  it 
arises,  and  in  what  way  it  supports  itself  in  com- 
mon life  7  And  in  answer  to  this  inquiry  an  ob- 
vious remark  is,  that,  with  the  exception  of  its  pure- 
ly instinctive  action,  it  always  has  its  foundation 
in  confidence  or  faith  in  the  object  beloved.  If  we 
have  no  confidence  in  another's  character,  no  faith 
in  his  truth,  his  honor,  or  his  gratitude,  but  instead 
of  believing  in  him  as  possessed  of  good  and  inter- 
esting traits,  are  obliged  to  regard  him  as  charac- 
terized by  what  is  mean,  false,  and  evil,  it  seems 
to  be  impossible  on  natural  principles,  that  we 
should  love  him.  It  is  true,  we  may,  in  certain 
respects,  be  interested  in  such  a  person ;  we  may 
exercise  towards  him  the  love  of  pity  or  benevo- 
lence ;  but  we  cannot  exercise  that  form  of  love, 
which  alone  is  appropriate  to  God,  viz.  the  love  of 
COMPLACENCY,  Faith,  therefore,  must  precede  love. 
And  this,  which  is  the  law  of  natural  love,  is  also 
the  law  of  religious  love.  And  I  think  it  is  obvi- 
ous from  what  has  been  said  that  we  may  go  fur- 
ther and  say,  that  faith  not  only  sustains  to  love 
the  relation  of  antecedence,  but  sustains  also  the 
relation  of  a  cause  ;  not  of  an  absolutely  efficient 
13» 


1  50  RELATION  OF  ASSURANCE  OF  FAITH 

cause,  which  would  exchide  voluntariness  of  action; 
but  of  what  is  variously  called  a  conditional,  occa- 
sional, or  preparatory  cause.  So  that  we  may  not 
only  say,  that  in  point  of  fact  and  in  the  order  of 
nature,  faith  goes  before  love ;  but  may  properly 
add,  that  without  the  antecedence  of  faith  love 
cannot  exist. 

(2.) — As  connected  with  what  has  been  said,  we 
observe  further,  that  it  is  a  law  of  the  affection  of 
love,  not  only  that  it  will  follow  faith,  but  that  it 
will  be  in  proportion  to  faith.  It  will  be  recollected, 
that  we  are  speaking  now  of  the  love  of  complacen- 
cy, of  which  God  and  all  holy  beings,  are  the  ap- 
propriate objects ;  and  not  of  the  mere  love  of  pity 
or  benevolence,  of  which  other  beings  and  those  of 
a  very  different  character,  may  be  the  objects.  We 
repeat,  therefore,  that  love  not  only  depends  on 
faith,  in  some  measure  as  an  effect  depends  on  a 
cause;  but,  corresponding  also,  in  amount  or  degree, 
it  will  be  in  proportion  to  faith.  If  faith  is  weak, 
the  corresponding  exercise  of  love  will  be  propor- 
tionally weak ;  if  faith  is  strong,  the  degree  of  love 
will  be  proportionally  strong;  if  there  is  an  assu- 
rance or  perfection  of  faith,  there  will  be  an  assu- 
rance, that  is,  an  assured  state  or  perfection  of 
love.  This  is  the  connection,  if  we  have  a  right 
view  of  it,  and  the  permanent  law  of  the  two 
states  of  mind. 

And  this  relationship  and  this  permanent  law  of 
the  states  of  mind  under  consideration  is  abundant- 
ly recognized  in  theological  writers,  as  well  as  in 
the  Scriptures.      Archbishop  Leighton,    after    re- 


AND  PERFECT  LOVE.  151 

marking  in  his  Commentary  on  Peter,  that  there  is 
an  inseparable  intermixture  of  love  with  belief,  and 
that  they  are  mutually  strengthened,  the  one  by 
the  other,  proceeds  to  observe  as  follows.  "  Many 
directions,  as  to  the  means  of  begetting  and  increa- 
sing this  love  of  Christ,  may  be  here  offered ;  and 
they,  who  delight  in  number,  may  multiply  them ; 
but  surely  this  one  will  comprehend  the  greatest 
and  best  part,  if  not  all  of  them.  Believe  and  you 
SHALL  love  ;  believe  much  and  you  shall  love  much. 
Labor  for  strong  and  deep  persuasions  of  the  glo- 
rious things,  which  are  spoken  of  in  Christ,  and 
this  will  command  love." 

(3.) — We  remark  again,  that  these  two  states  of 
mind,  the  relation  of  which  to  each  other  has  thus 
been  briefly  indicated,  are  identical  in  their  results, 
in  relation  to  sin.  It  is  entirely  evident,  that  perfect 
love,  when  actually  in  exercise,  is  inconsistent 
with  the  commission  of  any  known  transgression. 
It  is  the  same,  as  must  be  evident  not  only  from 
the  statements  of  those  who  have  been  in  this  state 
of  mind,  but  also  from  a  shght  reflection  on  the 
subject  itself,  with  assurance  of  faith.  It  is  impos- 
sible, that  any  man,  who  knowingly  does  any 
thing  that  is  wrong,  can,  at  the  moment  of  doing 
it,  have  full  and  assured  faith  in  God,  as  his  friend 
and  father,  and  as  at  that  very  time  fully  forgiving 
and  accepting  him.  Assurance  of  faith,  considered 
as  expressive  of  a  definite  religious  state  of  mind, 
has  reference  both  to  God  and  to  the  subject  of  it ; 
to  God,  among  other  things,  as  true  to  his  word 
both  of  threatening  and  of  promise;  and  to  the 


152  RELATION  OF  ASSURANCE  OF  FAITH 

subject  of  it,  as  being  fully  forgiven  and  accepted 
in  God  through  Christ.  It  is  not  possible,  that  the 
man,  who  sins  voluntarily  and  knowingly  against 
God,  can,  at  the  time  of  thus  sinning,  have  full  and 
assured  faith  in  either  of  these  respects.  Full  faith 
in  God,  as  true  to  his  promises  and  threatenings 
would,  either  through  the  impression  of  strong 
love  and  gratitude,  or  of  terrible  fear,  extinguish  all 
desire  and  purpose  of  knowingly  doing  wrong. 
And  full  faith  in  God,  as  fully  forgiving  and  re- 
ceiving us  to  his  favor,  is  obviously  and  utterly 
inconsistent  with  the  fact  of  knowingly  sinning 
against  him  at  the  same  time.  He,  therefore,  who 
is  in  the  enjoyment  of  assurance  of  faith,  although 
he  may  be  the  subject  of  various  involuntary  in- 
firmities and  errors  which  result  from  our  fallen 
condition,  and  which  require  confession  and  atone- 
ment, will  never  knowingly  do  any  thing  against 
the  will  of  his  heavenly  Father.  And  these  views, 
it  is  hardly  necessary  to  add,  are  entirely  in  accord- 
ance with  those  passages  of  Scripture,  which  not 
only  speak  of  faith  as  peculiarly  acceptable  to  God, 
but   as   working   by  love,   and   as   purifying  the 

HEART. 

Dr.  Increase  Mather,  who  held  an  eminent  rank 
for  learning  and  piety  among  the  early  Congrega- 
tional ministers  of  New  England,  has  the  following 
expressions  in  a  Sermon  on  Assurance,  which  agree 
with  what  has  now  been  said.  "They,  that  pre- 
tend to  assurance  of  the  love  of  Christ,  and  yet 
have  no  care  to  observe  some  of  his  holy  com- 
mandments, do  but  deceive  their  own  souls,  and 


AND  PERFECT  LOVE.  153 

the  Lord  will  reject  their  confidences.  Where 
there  is  an  eminent  Assurance,  if  built  on  Scripture 
promises,  there  is  eminent  holiness." 

Mr.  Ebenezer  Erskine,  a  pious  minister  of  the 
Scotch  Presbyterian  Church  of  the  last  century, 
has  the  following  statement  in  his  Discourses  on 
Assurance  of  Faith,  which  obviously  involve  the 
idea  of  the  incompatibleness  of  faith  and  the  com- 
mission of  known  sin.  "  It  is  impossible  for  a  per- 
son, living  in  the  love  and  practice  of  sin,  to  draw 
near  to  God  with  the  confidence  of  faith ;  for,  in 
the  very  act  of  drawing  near,  the  heart  is  purified  by 
faith  in  the  blood  of  Jesus  ;  or,  as  it  is  expressed  in 
the  latter  clause  of  the  text,  [referring  to  Heb.  10 : 
22,]  he  hath  his  heart  sprinkled  from  an  evil  con- 
science, and  his  body  uashed  with  pure  water.  In  be- 
lieving we  cease  to  do  evil,  and  learn  to  do  well. 
Faith,  apprehending  the  mercy  of  God  in  Christ, 
turns  the  soul  from  sin  unto  God ;  so  that  it  is  as 
impossible  for  a  person  to  draw  near  to  God  with 
the  confidence  of  faith,  while  he  lives  in  the  love 
and  practice  of  sin,  as  it  is  for  a  person  to  come  to 
you,  and  go  from  you  at  the  same  instant  of  time. 
While  the  heart  is  in  league  with  sin,  it  is  depart- 
ing from  the  Lord.  How  then  in  this  case,  [that 
is  to  say,  when  the  heart  is  in  league  with  sin,] 
can  the  sinner  draw  near  to  God  ?  Far  less  can 
he  draw  near  with  assurance  of  acceptance." 

Mr  Andrew  Gray,  also  many  years  since  a  min- 
ister of  the  Scotch  Church,  in  a  Sermon  on  this  sub- 
ject, gives  a  number  of  evidences  or  marks  of  As- 
surance, the  first  of  which  has  a  connection  with 


154  RELATION  OF  ASSURANCE  OF  FAITH 

the  train  of  thought  now  before  us,  and  is  as  fol- 
lows. — "A  real  Assurance  is  a  purifying  and  sanc- 
TirriNG  assurance.  This  is  clear,  first  John  3 :  3. 
"Every  man  that  hath  this  hope  in  him,"  that  is,  is 
persuaded,  that  he  will  come  to  heaven,  [which 
is  one  of  the  characteristics,  though  not  the  only- 
one,  of  assurance  of  faith,]  "purifies  himself,  even 
as  he  is  pure."  And  second  Corinthians  7:1, 
Having,  therefore,  these  promises,  dearly  beloved, 
let  us  cleanse  ourselves  from  all  filthiness  of  the 
flesh  and  spirit"  O,  when  a  Christian  getteth 
Christ  in  his  arms,  he  cannot  but  cry  out  ,  What 
have  I  any  more  to  do  with  idokl  When  he  hath 
once  gotten  Christ  in  his  arms,  he  will  answer  every 
temptation  that  he  meeteth,  with  this ;  'I  am  not  my 
own' ,  'I  am  bought  with  a  price' ;  'I  cannot  now 
dispose  of  my  own  self.' — And  if  your  Assurance  of 
going  to  heaven  be  not  a  purifying  assurance,  be 
persuaded  of  it,  it  is  but  the  Devil's  pillow  sewed 
over  your  arm-holes.  Is  it  possible  a  person  can  be 
assured  of  heaven,  and  not  study  holiness  1  Caa 
such  a  delusion  as  this  overtake  you?" 
^  In  view  of  what  has  been  said,  as  our  limits  do 
f  not  admit  of  a  more  minute  investigation  of  the  sub- 
1  ject,  we  come  to  the  conclusion,  that  the  doctrine  of 
assurance  of  faith  and  the  doctrine  of  perfect  love, 
although  in  reality  distinct,  may  yet  safely  and 
properly  be  regarded  as  but  different  views  of  one 
great  phasis  of  experimental  Christianity,  viz.  that, 
in  which  the  soul  is  without  present  condemnation, 
and  is  in  the  experience  of  free,  accepted,  and  full 
communion  with  God.     Or  perhaps  we  may  ex- 


AND  PERFECT  LOVE.  155 

press  the  same  thing,  and  rather  more  definitely, 
by  saying,  although  they  are  distinct,  they  are  so 
closely  connected,  that  the  one,  wherever  it  exists, 
necessarily  involves  the  other;  and  that  either  of 
them  involves  the  idea  of  evangelical  holiness.  If 
there  is  assurance  of  faith,  it  is  necessarily  followed 
by  perfection  of  love,  and  the  existence  of  perfect 
love,  a  state  of  mind  which  is  otherwise  expressed 
by  the  terms  and  phrases,  sanctification,  christian 
perfection,  and  evangelical  holiness,  necessarily 
implies  the  antecedent  existence  of  assurance  of 
faith. 

But  it  will  be  asked,  perhaps,  by  some,  whose 
early  habits  of  thought  and  association  will  natu- 
rally prompt  the  inquiry,  if  there  be  this  close  re- 
lation between  assurance  of  faith  and  perfect  love, 
so  that  they  may  be  regarded  as,  in  effect,  identi- 
cal and  interchangeable,  why  not  retain  and  em- 
ploy the  former  mode  of  expression  to  the  exclu- 
sion of  any  other?  Undoubtedly  particular  de- 
nominations of  Christians,  and  individuals  also,  in- 
fluenced by  peculiarities  in  theological  views,  by 
early  associations,  or  some  other  cause,  will,  on 
some  occasions,  give  a  preference  to  those  forms  of 
expression,  which  most  readily  harmonize  with 
such  peculiarities  and  associations.  Nor  do  we 
suppose,  that  this  is  to  be  regarded  as  ground  of 
complaint.  Nevertheless,  there  is  no  necessity  of 
our  being  limited  to  one  mode  of  expression  ;  and 
in  the  present  case,  where  the  inward  experience, 
although  always  essentially  the  same,  presents  it- 
self in  difiierent  aspects,  sometimes  as  perfect  faith 


156  RELATION  OF  ASSURANCE  OF  FAITH. 

and  sometimes  as  perfect  love,  there  is  evidently 
some  advantage  in  not  being  so.  Those,  who 
know  by  personal  experience  what  this  state  of 
mind  is,  will  appreciate  this  remark,  among  other 
things,  because  a  familiarity  with  different  forms 
of  expression,  aids  very  much  on  many  occasions  in 
opening  the  way  to  a  free  and  united  communion 
with  those,  who  are  in  the  same  state  of  mind  in 
other  christian  denominations.  They  feel  the  need 
of  this  communion  ;  they  cannot  do  otherwise  than 
seek  it  and  find  it ;  and  on  both  sides  it  is  a  great 
satisfaction  to  understand  the  blessed  import  of  the 
expressions,  which  they  reciprocally  use.  And  be- 
sides, as  language  is  the  natural  sign  or  expression 
of  things,  it  seems  obvious,  that  there  is  something 
due  on  the  part  of  language  itself  to  that  natural 
and  eternal  relationship,  which  exists  in  the  case 
under  consideration.  /Faith  and  love  are  twin 
sisters,  born  together,  and  forever  inseparable.  I 
And  the  hearts  where  they  have  entered  and  taken 
possession,  by  whatever  names  of  sect  they  may 
be  characterized,  are  as  closely  allied  and  as  dear  to 
each  other,  as  the  divine  and  heavenly  graces  which 
animate  them.  He,  who  has  assurance  of  faith, 
can  never  disclaim  the  relationship  which  he  bears 
to  him,  who  has  perfection  of  love.  And  language, 
^hose  office  it  is  to  suit  the  word  to  the  thing  with 
entire  impartiality,  should  never  be  wanting  in 
acknowledged  terms  both  to  express  the  things 
themselves,  and  also  to  recognize  and  sanction  the 
relationship  and  union  between  them. 


CHAPTER  FIFTEENTH. 


Considerations  on  the  Life  of  Faith. 

"  The  just  shall  live  by  faith."  "  The  life,  which 
I  now  live  in  the  flesh,  I  live  by  the  faith  of  the 
Son  of  God."  These  passages,  and  others  like 
them,  involve  the  important  truth,  that  the  Chris- 
tian life  is  a  life  of  faith,  in  distinction  from  a  life 
of  open  vision. 

There  are  various  modifications  of  faith ;  all  of 
which  are  important  in  their  appropriate  places; 
and  all  of  which,  it  is  quite  probable,  have  a  con- 
nection more  or  less  intimate  with  the  life  of  faith. 
But  the  form  of  faith,  which  is  especially  necessa- 
ry, in  order  to  live  the  life  of  faith,  is  that,  which 
makes  God  present,  moment  by  moment,  in  any  and  all 
events,  which  take  place. — The  want  of  this  form  of 
faith  is  one  great  source  of  evil.  It  is  owing  to  a 
defect  here,  in  a  great  part  at  least,  that  many  per- 
sons, who  believe,  to  some  extent,  in  God,  and  in 
Christ,  and  perhaps  in  their  own  final  acceptance, 
nevertheless  make  but  little  progress  in  sanctifica- 
tion.  Adhesive  in  a  general  faith,  which  looks  at 
things  in  masses,  and  rejecting  that  which  is  par- 
ticular, they  necessarily  place  God  at  a  great  dis- 
14 


158  CONSIDERATIONS  ON  THE 

tance;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  that  faith,  which 
is  specific  and  particular,  brings  him  near ;  makes 
him  present  and  intimate  in  all  our  concerns,  and 
establishes  between  him  and  our  own  souls  a  per- 
petual and  happy  relationship. — We  hope  we  shall 
not  be  misunderstood.  We  admit  that  other  modi- 
fications of  faith  are  important  in  their  place.  We 
know  them  to  be  so.  But  we  cannot  doubt,  that 
the  true  life  of  God  in  the  soul  must  be  sustained, 
in  a  very  considerable  degree,  by  means  of  that 
specific   form  of  faith,  which  recognizes  God  as 

PRESENT,  NOT  ONLY  IN  EVERY  MOMENT  OF  TIME,  BUT  A8 
PRESENT,  EITHER  PERMISSIVELY  OR  CAUSATIVELY,  IN 
EVERY   EVENT    THAT    TAKES    PLACE. 

(1.) — Proceeding  now  to  illustrate  this  general 
view  in  some  particulars,  we  remark,  in  the  first 
place,  that  those,  who  are  in  the  exercise  of  that 
form  of  faith,  which  makes  God  present  in  every 
thing,  will  perceive  and  recognize  the  hand  of  God 
in  everything,  which  relates  to  themselves,  viz.  in 
the  preservation  of  their  lives  and  health,  in  their 
affairs  of  business,  in  their  sufferings  and  joys,  in 
the  strength  or  weakness  of  their  intellectual  pow- 
ers, in  their  opportunities  of  acquiring  knowledge, 
in  their  opportunities  of  discharging  duty,  in  their 
inward  and  outward  temptations,  in  every  thing 
whether  it  relates  to  mind,  body,  or  estate,  or 
whether  it  relates  to  suffering  or  to  action,  which 
in  any  way  concerns  themselves,  or  which  in  any 
way  concerns  those  with  whom  they  are  closely 
connected  by  family  ties. 

(2.) — We  remark  in  the  second  place,  that  if  we 


LIFE   OF  FAITH.  159 

are  in  the  exercise  of  that  kind  of  faith,  which 
makes  God  present  in  all  things,  we  shall  be  ena- 
bled to  see  distinctly  his  presence  and  his  operative 
hand  in  the  movements  and  acts  of  those,  who  en- 
tertain hostile  dispositions  towards  us,  and  who 
may  properly  be  denominated  our  enemies.  Not- 
withstanding the  suffering,  to  which  the  cruel  and 
unjust  course  of  our  enemies  often  exposes  us,  we 
shall  find  no  difficulty,  if  we  are  in  the  exercise  of 
this  form  of  specific  faith,  in  recognizing  and  be- 
lieving the  presence  of  God  in  that,  as  in  other 
things.  The  mind  is  in  that  delightful  position, 
which  enables  it  to  think  much  more  of  God,  than 
of  the  instrument,  which  he  employs.  Looking  up 
to  the  great  Author,  it  accepts  from  his  hand  with 
acquiescence  and  thankfulness  the  cup  of  bitterness; 
while  it  has  mingled  emotions  of  disapproval  and 
pity,  (compassion  being  the  predominant  feeling,) 
for  the  subordinate  agent.  But  it  is  the  distinct 
and  unwavering  perception,  that  God  is  present, 
and  that  it  is  God  who  offers  it  to  our  lips,  which 
most  of  all  changes  and  sweetens  the  draught. 
It  is  inexpressibly  delightful,  in  all  the  trials  that 
come  upon  us  from  within  and  without,  to  realize, 
without  any  misgivings  of  spirit,  that  the  rod, 
whatever  may  be  the  subordinate  agency,  is  in  the 
hands  of  our  heavenly  Father. 

"  Lord !  I  am  Thine ;  but  thou  vn.lt  prove 
"  My  faith,  my  patience;  and  my  love ; 
"  When  men  of  spite  against  me  join, 
"  They  ah«  the  sword  ;  the  hand  is  XHiifE." 

(3.) — Proceeding  to  a  further  application  of  these 


160  CONSIDERATIONS  ON  THE 

views,  we  remark  again;  it  is  obvious  from  the 
Scriptures,  that  we  are  required  to  be  "diligent  in 
business ;"  "  whatever  our  hand  findeth  to  do,  to  do 
it  with  our  might ;"  "  to  provide  for  our  own  house- 
holds ;"  and  undoubtedly  every  person  must,  on 
Christian  principles,  regularly  and  conscientiously 
accomplish  the  appropriate  work  of  his  hands, 
whatever  it  may  be. 

But  here  also,  as  in  everything  else,  we  must 
recognize  the  presence  and  agency  of  God,  We 
must  do  whatever  God  requires  us  to  do ;  and  must 
recognize  him  alike  in  the  fulfilment  and  the  disap- 
pointment of  our  efforts.  We  must  not  think  too 
much  of  the  inferior  instrumentality  of  the  rain  and 
the  sunshine  ;  of  the  turning  of  the  furrow  and  of 
the  planting  of  the  seed,  although  these  are  impor- 
tant in  their  place ;  but  placing  these  and  all  other 
secondary  acts  and  causes  comparatively  under 
our  feet,  must  endeavor  to  gain  a  higher  position, 
and  to  stand  in  nearer  proximity  to  the  Primitive 
Agency.  "  He  that  observeth  the  wind,  shall  not 
sow ;  and  he  that  regardeth  the  clouds,  shall  not 
reap."  God  works  in  connection  with  second  cau- 
ses ;  but  not  in  dependence  on  them.  They  are  his 
servants,  and  not  his  masters ;  a  sort  of  dumb  ex- 
positors of  his  purposes  and  will,  but  in  no  sense, 
though  blind  man  seldom  looks  above  them,  the 
originating  and  effective  cause.  "In  the  morning 
sow  thy  seed,  and  in  the  evening  withhold  not  thy 
hand ;  for  thou  knowest  not  whether  shall  prosper, 
either  this  or  that,  or  whether  they  both  shall  be 
alike  good."*  Blessed  is  the  man,  who,  as  he  goes 
*  Ecclesiastes,  IX  :  4, 6, 


LIFE    OF    FAITH.  1(31 

about  his  daily  business,  tending  his  flocks  with 
Abraham,  or  ploughing  his  fields  with  Elisha,  can 
see  God  in  trees  and  flowers  and  running  brooks, 
in  hills  and  valleys  and  mountains,  in  clouds  and 
in  sunshine ;  and  can  connect  him,  as  an  intelligible 
and  effective  agency,  with  everything  that  has  re- 
lation to  the  time  and  the  place,  the  nature  and 
the  results  of  his  labors. 

(4.) — It  is  important  also,  in  the  experience  of  a 
holy  life,  to  extend  the  principle  of  the  recognition 
of  God's  presence  and  agency,  to  all  public  and  na- 
tional events,  as  well  as  to  those  of  a  more  private 
nature.  In  republican  governments,  and  in  all 
governments  of  a  constitutional  character,  there  are 
almost  constantly  before  the  public  questions  of 
great  interest,  which,  when  viewed  out  of  their  re- 
lation to  the  Divine  Mind,  are  calculated  to  excite 
in  the  Christian,  as  well  as  in  others,  a  degree  of 
anxiety.  When  he  beholds  conflicting  parties  and 
nations,  when  he  witnesses  the  wild  ])olitical  com- 
motion and  uproar,  which  has  characterized  almost 
every  age  of  the  world,  the  heart  of  the  good  man 
would  faint  within  him,  if  he  did  not  know  and 
feel,  that  the  hand  of  the  Lord  is  in  it.  And  yet 
the  faith  even  of  Christians,  when  exercised  in  re- 
lation to  public  events,  is  exceedingly  weak;  so 
much  so  as  hardly,  in  the  comparative  sense,  to 
have  an  existence.  It  is  very  different  in  this  mat- 
ter from  what  it  should  be.  Nothing  but  a  strange 
and  blind  unbehef  could  thus  exile  God  from  a 
participation  in  national  movements.  There  has  no 
political  event  ever  taken  place ;  there  has  been  no 
J4» 


162  CONSIDERATIONS  ON  THE 

fall  or  rise  of  empires;  no  building  up  or  overthrow 
of  parties ;  no  aggressions  of  war  or  pacifications 
of  peace,  without  the  presence  of  the  hand  of 
the  Lord,  either  for  good  or  for  evil,  for  punish- 
ment or  reward.  Such  is  the  doctrine  of  the 
Scriptures,  as  well  as  of  reason.  Their  lan- 
guage is,  "  The  kingdom  is  the  Lord's ;  and  he  is 
the  governor  among  the  nations."  Ps.  22:  28. 
"  By  me  kings  reign,  and  princes  decree  justice." 
Prov.  8 ;  15.  God  says  of  Cyrus,  the  Persian  king 
and  conquerer,  "He  is  my  shepherd,  and  shall 
perform  all  my  pleasure ;  even  saying  to  Jerusalem, 
Thou  shalt  be  built,  and  to  the  temple,  thy  foun- 
dation shall  be  laid."  Isa.  44:  28.  And  He  adds 
in  the  next  chapter  a  remarkable  passage,  which 
shows,  that  kings  and  rulers,  who  have  no  reali- 
zing sense  of  the  divine  superintendence  and  pres- 
ence, may  yet  be  the  instruments  in  his  hands  for 
the  accomplishment  of  his  purposes.  "  For  Jacob, 
my  servant's  sake,  and  Israel,  mine  elect,  I  have 
even  called  thee  by  thy  name ;  /  have  surnamed  thee, 
though  thou  hast  not  known  we.." 

■  Oh,  that  we  might  learn  the  great  lesson,  (the 
lesson  absolutely  indispensable  to  him,  who  would 
experience  the  highest  results  of  the  inward  life,) 
of  beholding  God,  either  in  his  direct  efficiency  or 
his  permissive  and  controlling  guardianship,  as 
present  in  all  things,  whether  high  or  low,  of  what- 
ever name  or  nature,  j  Without  taking  this  view  of 
his  presence,  we  deprive  ourselves  of  that  great 
Centre,  where  the  soul  finds  rest.  We  are  tossed 
and  agitated  by  passing  events.  Every  thing  is 
perplexed,  mysterious,  and  hopeless. 


LIFE    OF   FAITH.  163 

In  conclusion  we  would  remark,  that  a  life  of 
faith  is  necessarily  a  life  of  prayer.  It  must  be 
obvious,  that  the  faith,  which  makes  God  present 
at  all  times,  and  in  all  events,  and  yet  without  in- 
spiring a  sentiment  of  communion  and  sympathy 
with  the  Divine  Mind,  would  be  of  no  avail. 
When,  therefore,  we  speak  of  believingly  recogni- 
zing the  presence  of  God  in  all  things,  we  do  not 
mean  a  recognition,  in  which  there  shall  be  no  feel- 
ing, no  sentiments  of  filial  dependence,  no  gratitude 
and  love.  Far  from  it.  God  is  made  present  by 
faith,  in  order  to  be  loved  and  communed  with. 
The  spirit  of  true  communion  with  God,  which  is 
only  another  name  for  the  spirit  of  prayer,  natural- 
ly flows  out,  as  it  seems  to  us,  of  the  spirit  of  con- 
stant and  specific  faith ;  and  naturally  and  neces- 
sarily forms  an  important  part  of  the  life  of  faith. 
True  prayer  always  has  relation  to  the  existing 
state  or  tendency  of  the  soul.  Or  rather  it  is,  for 
the  time  being,  the  very  state  of  the  soul  itself,  and 
nothing  else.  And  the  existing  state  of  the  soul,  it 
is  hardly  necessary  to  say,  always  and  necessarily 
has  a  connection,  more  or  less  intimate,  with  the 
existing  developement  of  things.  Connecting,  there- 
fore, the  existing  state  of  the  soul  with  the  existing 
state  of  things  around  it,  and  the  developement  of 
things  with  the  presence  and  agency  of  God,  we  are 
at  once  brought  into  correspondence  and  commu- 
nion with  God,  in  relation  to  the  things,  m  which 
we  are  now  most  especially  interested,  and  concer- 
ning which  God  is  most  pleased  to  hear  from  us 
and  to  know  what  our  thoughts  are.     Accordingly 


164  CONSIDERATIONS  ON  THE 

it  is,  in  our  apprehension,  a  true  doctrine,  that  ev- 
ery returning  day  brings  with  it  its  special  burden 
of  prayer ;  in  other  words,  something  which  it  is 
especially  proper  for  us  to  introduce  to  the  notice 
of  our  heavenly  Father  for  his  direction  and  bles- 
sing. And  this  is  true,  not  only  of  every  day,  but 
of  every  hour  and  every  moment.  And  thus  it  is, 
that  those  who  live  the  life  of  faith,  may  not  only 
be  said  to  recognize  God  in  everything,  and  to  be 
in  communication  with  him  in  every  thing ;  but  to 
look  for  guidance  and  the  divine  blessing  in  every 
thing,  and  "to  pray  without  ceasing." 


The  following  extract  from  a  letter  on  Experience  is  copied  from 
a  tract  published  in  Boston  in  1810,  and  entitled,  "The  Life  of 
Faith;  A  Letter  found  in  the  Study  of  the  late  Rev.  Wr.  Belcher 
of  New  England,  [probably  Rev.  Samuel  Belcher  of  Newbur)', 
Mass.]     Being  an  answer  to  the  question,   how  to  live  in  this 

WOHLD,  so  AS  TO  LIVE    IN  HEAVEN." 

"I  will  tell  you  familiarly  what  God  hath  done 
for  my  soul,  and  in  what  train  my  soul  keeps 
toward  himself  I  am  come  to  a  conclusion  to 
look  after  no  great  matters  in  the  world,  but  to 
know  Christ  and  him  crucified.  I  make  best  way 
in  a  low  gale.  A  high  spirit  and  a  high  sail  to- 
gether will  be  dangerous,  and  therefore  I  prepare 
to  live  low.  I  desire  not  much  and  pray  against  it. 
My  study  is  my  calling ;  so  much  as  tends  that 
way  (without  distraction)  I  am  bound  to  plead  for, 
and  more  I  desire  not.  By  my  secluded  retire- 
ments I  have  the  advantage  to  observe  how  every 


LIFE   OF    FAITH.  165 

day's  occasions  insensibly  wear  off  the  heart  from 
God,  and  bury  it  in  self,  which  they  who  live  in 
care  and  cumbers  cannot  be  sensible  of.  I  have 
seemed  to  see  a  need  of  every  thing  God  gives  me, 
and  want  nothing  that  he  denies  me.  There  is  no 
dispensation,  though  afflictive,  but  either  in  it,  or 
after  it,  I  find  that  I  could  not  be  without  it. 
Whether  it  be  taken  from  or  not  given  to  me,  soon- 
er or  later  God  quiets  me  in  himself  without  it. 
I  cast  all  my  concerns  on  the  Lord,  and  live  securely 
on  the  care  and  wisdom  of  my  heavenly  Father, 
My  ways,  you  know,  are,  in  a  sense,  hedged  up  with 
thorns,  and  grow  darker  and  darker  daily  ;  but  yet 
I  distrust  not  my  good  God  in  the  least,  and  live 
more  quietly  in  the  absence  of  all  by  faith,  than  I 
should  do,  I  am  persuaded,  if  I  possessed  them.  I 
think  the  Lord  deals  kindly  with  me,  to  make  me 
believe  for  my  mercies,  before  I  have  them  ;  they 
will  then  be  Isaacs,  sons  of  laughter.  The  less  rea- 
son hath  to  work  on,  [that  is,  the  more  entirely 
reason  is  perplexed  and  is  at  a  loss  what  measures 
to  adopt,]  the  more  freely  faith  casts  itself  on  the 
faithfulness  of  God.  I  find  that,  while  faith  is 
steady,  nothing  can  disquiet  me ;  and  when  faith 
totters,  nothing  can  establish  me.  If  I  tumble  out 
amongst  means  and  creatures,  I  am  presently  lost, 
and  can  come  to  no  end  ;  but  if  I  stay  myself  on 
God,  and  leave  him  to  work  in  his  own  way  and 
time,  I  am  at  rest,  and  can  sit  down  and  sleep  in 
a  promise,  when  a  thousand  rise  up  against  me. 
Therefore,  my  way  is  not  to  cast  beforehand,  but 
to  walk  with  God  by  the  day.     Sufficient  unto  thQ 


166  CONSIDERAIONS  ON  THE 

day  is  the  evil  thereof.  I  find  so  much  to  do  con- 
tinually with  my  calling  and  my  heart,  that  I  have 
no  time  to  puzzle  myself  with  peradventures  and 
futurities.  As  for  the  state  of  the  times  it  is  very 
gloomy  and  tempestuous.  But  why  do  the  heathen 
rage  ?  Faith  lies  at  anchor  in  the  midst  of  the 
waves,  and  believes  the  accomplishment  of  the 
promise  through  all  these  overturning  confusions 
and  seeming  impossibilities. 

"  Upon  this  God  do  I  live,  who  is  our  God  for  ever, 
and  will  guide  us  unto  death.  Methinks  I  lie  be- 
calmed in  his  bosom,  as  Luther  in  such  a  case, 
[viz.  when  beset  with  troubles.]  I  am  not  much 
concerned  ;  let  Christ  see  to  it.  I  know  prophecies 
are  now  dark,  and  the  books  are  sealed,  and  men 
have  all  been  deceived,  and  every  cistern  fails  ;  yet 
God  doth  continue  faithful,  and  faithful  is  he  that 
hath  promised,  who  will  do  it,  I  believe  these  dark 
times  are  the  womb  of  a  bright  morning. 

"Many  things  more  I  might  add,  but  enough.  O 
brother  !  keep  close  to  God,  and  then  a  little  of  the 
creature  will  go  a  great  way.  Maintain  secret  com- 
munion with  God,  and  you  need  fear  nothing.  (^Take 
time  for  duties  in  private  ;  crowd  not  religion  in  a 
corner  of  the  day.  ^  There  is  a  Dutch  proverb,  "Noth- 
ing is  got  by  thieving,  nor  lost  by  praying."  Lay 
up  all  your  good  in  God,  so  as  to  be  able  to  over- 
balance the  sweetness  and  bitterness  of  all  creatures. 
Spend  no  time  anxiously  in  forehand  contrivances 
for  this  world.  They  never  succeed.  God  will  turn 
his  dispensations  another  way.  Self  contrivances  are 
the  effects  of  unbelief.     I  can  speak  by  experience. 


LIFE    OF    FAITH  167 

Would  men  spend  those  hours  they  run  out  in 
plots  and  contrivances  in  communion  with  God, 
and  leave  all  to  him,  by  believing,  they  would  have 
more  peace  and  comfort.  I  leave  you  with  your 
God  and  mine.  The  Lord  Jesus  be  with  your 
spirit." 


'i  God  of  my  life,  whose  gracious  power, 
"  Thro'  varied  deaths  my  soul  hath  led, 

"  Or  tum'd  aside  the  fatal  hour, 
'•'  Or  lifted  up  my  sinking  head  ! 

"  In  all  thy  ways  thy  hand  I  own, 
"  Thy  ruling  Providence  I  see  ; 

"  Assist  me  still  my  course  to  run, 
•''  And  still  direct  my  paths  to  thee." 


CHAPTER  SIXTEENTH. 


Of  a  Life  of  special  signs  and  manifestations,  as 
compared  with  a  Life  of  Faith. 


The  views,  which  have  been  taken  of  the  life  of 
faith,  will  aid  us  in  forming  a  proper  estimate  of 
a  tendency,  which  is  often  noticed  among  the  fol- 
lowers of  Christ,  to  seek  for  signs,  tokens,  and  man- 
ifestations, as  the  basis,  in  part  at  least,  of  their 
full  reconciliation  with  God,  and  of  a  holy  life. 
We  are  aware,  that  this  tendency  arises,  in  some 
cases  from  ignorance ;  but  there  can  be  no  doubt, 
that  it  has  its  origin  chiefly  in  that  dreadful  mala- 
dy of  our  nature,  the  sin  of  unbelief.  But  consid- 
ered in  any  point  of  view,  and  as  originating  in 
any  cause  whatever,  we  cannot  regard  it  as  other- 
wise than  wrong  in  principle,  and  as  exceedingly 
injurious  in  its  consequences.  In  reading,  not  long 
since,  the  Memoirs  of  the  pious  and  devoted  Lady 
Maxwell,  our  attention  was  directed  to  a  Consecra- 
tion of  herself  to  God,  at  an  early  period  of  her  life, 
conceived  in  terms,  which,  as  it  seemed  to  us,  a 
more  matured  judgment  and  a  more  advanced  ex- 
perience of  God's  faithfulness,  such  as  she  had  in 
the  later  periods  of  her  life,  would  not  have  entire- 
ly approved.     The  portion  of  this  interesting  act  of 


OF  A  LIFE  OF  SIGNS  AND  MANIFESTATIONS.  169 

Consecration,  to  which  reference  is  here  particular- 
ly made,  is  as  follows.  "If  thou,  Lord,  wilt  man- 
ifest thy  dear  Son  to  me,  clear  up  my  evidence  of 
my  interest  in  him,  shed  abroad  his  love  at  all 
times  in  my  heart,  and  let  me  feel  him  ever  draw- 
ing me  to  himself  with  the  cords  of  love,  and  in 
times  of  trial  make  his  strength  perfect  in  my 
weakness,  and  not  desert  me  in  duty  nor  in  temp- 
tation ;  if  thou,  Lord,  wilt  do  these  great  things  for 
me,  then,  in  thy  strength,  I  give  myself  unto  thee, 
soul,  body,  and  spirit,  in  the  bonds  of  an  everlast- 
ing covenant  never  to  be  forgotten." — It  seems  to 
be  a  fair  inference  from  these  expressions,  that  this 
pious  lady  had  an  earnest  desire,  at  the  period  of 
making  this  consecration,  to  devote  herself  entirely 
to  God ;  but  that  she  had  not  faith  enough,  or  per- 
haps we  might  properly  say,  she  was  afraid  to  com- 
mit herself  without  reserve  mto  the  hands  of  her 
heavenly  Father,  which  is  the  true  idea  of  conse- 
cration ;  and  without  which  no  act  of  consecration 
can  be  of  any  value.  In  other  words,  she  had  not 
faith  enough  to  make  this  important  surrender  or 
renunciation  of  self,  (a  renunciation  which  is  so  in- 
dispensable to  a  full  realization  of  the  inward  life,) 
without  some  special  testimony  of  his  favor;  some 
inward  sign,  some  specific  feeling,  something,  prob- 
ably not  very  definitely  represented  even  to  her 
own  conceptions,  which  should  assure  her,  antece- 
dently to  the  full  surrender  on  her  part,  of  the  di- 
vine acceptance. 

Many  persons,  who  have  seen  and  have  correc- 
ted the  error,  and  are  now  living  the  true  life  of 
15 


170         OF  A  LIFE  OF  SIGNS  AND  MANIFESTATIONS, 

faith,  can  testify,  that,  in  the  earlier  periods  of 
their  experience,  they  have  hesitated  and  been  per- 
plexed in  a  similar  manner.  And  as  the  snbject  is 
practically  one  of  great  importance,  it  may  be  prop- 
er to  introduce  here  some  instances  and  illustra- 
tions, in  addition  to  what  has  already  been  said. 
"  My  anxiety,"  says  a  religious  person,  whose  ex- 
perience is  given  in  a  recent  publication,  "for  ad- 
vancement in  holiness  increased.  My  mind  be- 
came exceedingly  burdened.  I  was  convinced, 
that  I  must  make  a  new  and  entire  consecration  of 
myself  to  God,  yet  shrunk  from  such  a  total  sur- 
render. I  sometimes  felt,  that  if  the  Lord  would 
make  some  communication  to  my  soul,  as  a  pledge 
that  he  was  ready  to  meet  me,  and  would  grant 
sufficient  grace  in  case  I  entered  into  such  solemn 
covenant  to  be  his,  I  could  then  venture  to  engage 
to  live  henceforth  for  him  alone;  but,  through 
weakness  of  faith,  /  dared  not  venture  forward  upon 
his  naked  promise.  No  such  aid  to  my  faith,  how- 
ever, was  granted.  I  saw  that  the  surrender 
must  be  unconditional." 

Says  another  writer  in  the  same  Work,  "I  con- 
tinued seeking  for  light  on  this  subject,  when  one 
night,  after  a  severe  struggle  with  unbelief,  I  cov- 
enanted with  the  Lord,  that,  if  he  would  keep  me 
from  all  sin  through  the  next  day,  I  would  then 
believe  that  such  a  state  might  be  enjoyed  on  earth. 
All  was  now  calm.  I  rose  in  the  morning,  in  the 
same  peaceful  frame  of  mind ;  and  at  the  close  of 
the  day  I  could  not  but  acknowledge,  that  I  had 
enjoyed  something,  to  which  I  had  ever  before 


AS  COMPARED  WITH  A  LIFE  OF  FAITH.  171 

been  a  stranger.  An  incident  occurred,  which,  at 
any  other  time,  would  have  excited  feeUngs  of  an- 
ger ;  but  it  did  not,  in  the  least,  disturb  the  deep 
quiet  which  reigned  Avithin.  The  time  had  arri- 
ved for  me  to  fulfil  my  covenant  promise.  But, 
alas,  unbelief  triumphed;  and  I  desired  another 
6IGN,  which  was  the  continuation  of  this  full  salva- 
tion for  one  week.  I  thought  this  manifestation  of 
saving  grace  would  put  the  doctrine  beyond  any 
further  doubt.  But  I  had  had  sufficient  evidence. 
I  had  persisted  in  unbelief;  and  my  request  was 
not  granted,"^ 

The  signs,  tokens,  or  manifestations,  which  both 
those  who  are  seeking  religion  in  the  first  instance 
and  those  who  are  aiming  at  its  highest  attain- 
ments, not  unfrequently  ask  for,  either  in  express 
words  or  by  the  hidden  language  of  the  secret  ten- 
dency of  the  mind,  are  various ;  but  the  most  of 
them  may  probably  be  brought  together  under  three 
heads  or  classes. — The  first  class  are  those,  which 
are  external ;  sometimes  an  object  of  vision  addres- 
sed to  the  outward  sight ;  sometimes  a  sound  ad- 
dressed to  the  outward  hearing ;  or  some  remarka- 
ble combination  of  circumstances  in  relation  to  our 
persons  or  families ;  or  something  peculiar  and  stri- 
king in  God's  providences  ;  or  perhaps  the  sugges- 
tion of  passages  of  Scripture  of  a  certain  character; 
or  the  personal  appearance  of  the  Savior,  revealed 
either  outwardly  or  inwardly,  but  as  distinctly  as 
if  present  to  the  outward  vision.     The  manifesta- 

*  Guide  to  Christian  Perfection,  Vol.  I,  p.  266  ;  Vol.  II,  p.  173. 
See  also  further  illustrations  of  this  su"bject,  Vol.  II,  pp.  31,  202; 
Vol.  Ill,  p.  221;  and  Vol.  IV,  p.  184. 


172         OP  A  LIFE  OF  SIGNS  AND  MANIFESTATIONS, 

tion,  which  was  made  to  Paul  in  his  journey  to 
Damascus,  when  he  saw  a  bright  hght  shining 
from  heaven,  and  heard  a  voice,  and  perhaps  also 
that  of  Stephen,  when  he  saw  the  heavens  opened 
and  beheld  the  Savior  at  the  right  hand  of  God, 
were  of  this  class. — The  second  class  are  those, 
which  are  internal,  in  distinction  from  those  which 
are  external ;  but  still  are  essentially  of  a  percep- 
tive or  intellectual  nature ;  that  is  to  say,  are  not 
necessarily  attended  with  an  effect  upon  the  heart. 
A  person,  for  instance,  may  inwardly  and  intellec- 
tually have  a  revealed  perception  of  heaven,  of  an- 
gels ascending  and  descending,  of  bright  and  re- 
joicing companies  of  the  saints,  or  of  anything  else 
which  is  a  matter  of  knowledge  and  revelation, 
whether  it  has  relation  to  the  world  of  happiness 
or  the  world  of  woe.  Such  manifestations  are  not 
seen  outwardly  or  by  the  outward  sense;  but  when 
they  are  really  from  God,  are  made  known  by  a 
divine  communication  operating  in  the  intellectual 
part.  And  this  is  done  so  distinctly  as  entirely  to 
control  belief;  though  it  is  not  necessarily  attended 
with  holy  emotion.  We  have  an  instance  of  this  in 
the  apostle  Paul,  when,  without  knowing  whether 
he  was  in  the  body  or  out  of  the  body,  he  was 
caught  up,  as  it  were,  into  the  third  heavens,  and 
beheld  things  unutterable. 

The  THIRD  class  are  peculiarities  in  emotive 
and  affective  experience ;  in  other  words,  the  exist- 
ence of  specific  emotions  and  affections  of  a  pecu- 
liar kind ;  such  as  a  peculiar  strength  and  fulness 
of  joy,  or  a  deep  and  silent  awe,  or  an  indefinable 


AS  COMPARED  WITH  A  LIFE    OF   FAITH.  173 

melting  of  the  heart  in  rapturous  exstacies.  And 
not  unfrequently  we  characterise  the  emotion  or 
affection,  which  we  seek  for  as  the  sign  or  testimo- 
ny of  our  good  estate,  by  its  hkeness  to  the  alledged 
experience  of  some  of  our  rehgious  acquaintances. 
In  other  words,  we  desire  a  form  of  experience 
Uke  theirs;  not  only  resembling  it  in  its  nature,  but 
resembling  it  in  its  modifications  or  peculiarities. 
It  is  the  peculiarity,  the  specific  character  of  the 
thing,  which  in  these  cases,  more  than  the  thing  it- 
self independently  of  the  peculiarity,  seems  to  con- 
stifute  the  sign. 

But  whatever  the  specific  thing  may  be,  there 
can  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  general  fact,  viz.  that  a 
special  experience  of  some  kind,  either  inward  or 
outward,  either  in  the  perceptions  or  the  feelings, 
is  often  desired  and  sought  after,  and  is  sometimes 
made  an  absolute  condition,  both  by  those  who  are 
seeking  religion  in  the  first  instance,  and  by  those 
who  are  seeking  the  additional  grace  of  sanctifica- 
tion,  before  they  are  willing  to  trust  themselves  in 
the  hands  of  God  to  be  wholly  and  unreservedly 
his.  A  striking  proof  of  the  deep  distrust  and  lui- 
belief  of  the  human  heart;  and  how  blind  man  is 
when  left  to  himself;  and  how  surely  he  would 
rush  to  his  own  destruction. 

We  reccollect  to  have  read  the  Life  of  a  pious 
woman,  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church, 
(and  it  is  by  no  means  the  only  one  which  has 
come  within  our  notice,)  which  seemed  to  us  to  be 
an  illustration  of  what  has  been  said.  We  refer  to 
the  Life,  published  many  years  since  in  Scotland, 


174         OF  A  LIFE  OF  SIGXS  AND  MANIFESTATIONS, 

of  Miss  Elizabeth  Cairns.  There  is  reason  to  think, 
from  Ihe  statements  which  are  given  in  this  inter- 
esting Memoir,  that  the  Spirit  of  God  operated  upon 
the  mind  of  this  devout  i)erson  from  early  Ufe. 
But  not  having  received  suitable  instructions  in  the 
nature  of  true  religious  experience  at  an  early  period, 
she  seems  to  have  been  led  very  thoroughly  into  the 
system  of  living  by  special  manifestations  and  those 
high  emotions,  which  are  apt  to  be  attendant  on 
them.  When  she  had  manifestations,  (which  is 
perhaps  the  best  term  we  can  find,  though  not  an 
unexceptionable  one,  for  the  peculiar  form  of  her 
experience,)  especially  if  they  were  remarkable 
ones,  she  was  exceedingly  happy.  She  regarded 
them  as  the  tokens  of  the  divine  favor ;  and  it  was 
but  natural  that  she  should  rejoice.  But  when 
they  were  withdrawn,  a  mental  reaction  almost 
invariably  took  place,  and  she  became  exceedingly 
miserable ;  so  that  her  life  exhibited  an  unpleasant 
alternation  of  elevations  and  depressions,  of  the 
joyful  and  of  the  terrific,  of  rapture  and  of  wretch- 
edness. In  her  seasons  of  desertion,  as  she  regard- 
ed them,  her  temptations  were  great  and  almost 
overwhelming.  It  almost  seemed  to  her  darkened 
view,  as  if  the  very  being,  as  well  as  the  presence 
and  glory  of  God,  was  blotted  out  of  existence. 
Some  good  people,  who  sympathized  in  her  desires 
after  holiness,  endeavored  to  instruct  her  in  a  better 
way  ;  but  she  had  so  long  lived  upon  special  and 
powerful  illuminations,  which  she  had  been  in  the 
habit  of  regarding  as  the  only  sure  signs  and  testi- 
monies of  her  good  estate,  that  she  found  it  difficult 


AS  COMPARED  WITH  A  LIFE  OF  FAITH.  175 

to  understand  their  views,  and  still  more  difficult 
to  put  them  in  practice.  She  speaks  particularly 
in  her  Memoir  of  an  experienced  christian  friend, 
who,  perceiving  the  temptations  and  wretchedness 
that  followed  her  seasons  of  high  manifestations, 
endeavored  to  aid  her.  This  person  told  me,  she 
relates,  "that  I  must  part  with  that  life,  or  I  must 
go  out  of  the  world ;  as  also  she  told  me  of  a  life 
of  FAITH  a  Believer  lived  by  in  this  world ;  and 
that  sensible  manifestations  were  reserved  for  eter- 
nity. And  by  similitude  she  taught  me,  that 
Christ  did  with  his  young  converts,  as  a  woman 
doth  with  her  child,  when  it  is  young.  She  carries 
it  in  her  arms  and  leads  it  by  the  hands ;  but  when 
it  comes  to  more  strength,  she  lets  it  walk  alone, 
and  take  a  fall,  and  rise  again,  and  yet  her  love  is 
still  the  same.  So  doth  Christ  with  his  people. 
In  their  first  entry  into  his  way,  he  manifests  much 
of  his  love  to  them  ;  but  when  they  come  to  more 
experience,  he  withdraws  sense  from  them  that 
they  may  be  taught  to  walk  by  faith  ;  but  yet  his 
love  is  still  the  same  to  them."— '-This,"  she  adds, 
"was  good  advice :  but,  alas,  I  knew  not  how  to 
take  it."  At  a  later  period  of  her  life  she  remarks, 
"I  did  not  know  a  life  of  failh;  but  still  pursued 
a  life  of  sense,  foohshly  thinking  with  Peter,  to 
dwell  in  the  mount  of  manifestations.  O  the  great 
mistake  I  was  in  !  For  although  the  Lord  had 
graciously  visited  me  with  many  earnests  and 
pledges  of  his  love,  and  thereby  satisfied  me  as  to 
my  interest  in  the  common  salvation,  yet  I  did  not 
know  that  I  should  have  submitted  to  his  will,  and 


176         OF  A  LIFE  OF  SIGNS  AND  MANIFESTATIONS, 

put  a  blank  in  his  hand  as  to  more  extraordinary  aU 
lowances.''^ 

The  consequence  of  this  mistake  was,  as  has 
already  been  intimated,  that  this  pious  individual 
was  exposed  to  many  internal  troubles.  She  gives 
us  to  understand,  that,  in  the  intervals  of  her  more 
extraordinary  experiences,  she  felt  the  ragings  of 
sin  in  her ;  was  in  deep  sorrow ;  had  at  times  but 
little  access  in  prayer ;  was  tempted  to  impatience, 
atheism,  and  self-destruction.  And  we  may  very 
properly  ask  here,  as  she  had  made  up  her  mind, 
ignorantly  perhaps  but  yet  truly,  to  walk  by 
special  and  extraordinary  manifestations  and  illu- 
minations, rather  than  in  the  simple  and  self-cruci- 
fying, the  humbling  and  purifying  way  of  faith, 
the  way  in  which  Prophets,  Patriarchs,  and  Apos- 
tles trod,  could  we  well  expect  it  to  be  otherwise? 
When  we  arrive  at  the  true  and  fundamental  ele- 
ment of  a  holy  life,  we  shall  find,  that  God  has 
but  one  way.  And  we  may  be  assured,  that  He 
will  honor  and  bless  his  own  method  of  holy  living 
and  no  other. 

The  remarks,  which  have  been  made  upon  this 
case,  will  apply  very  well,  in  many  particulars,  to 
tlie  religious  experience  of  Miss  Anthony,  formerly 
a  resident  of  Newport  in  Rhode  Island,  and  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Congregational  Church.  Her  life  was 
written  by  Dr.  Hopkins,  a  man  well  known  for 
his  theological  labors.  It  exhibits  the  same  traits, 
though  not  in  an  equal  degree,  with  those  which 
characterize  the  Memoir  which  has  just  been  re- 
marked upon.      It  is  well  known,  that  there  are 


AS  COMPARED  WITH  A  LIFE  OF  FAITH.  177 

many  Memoirs  of  pious  persons,  which  are  almost 
wholly  made  up  of  marked  and  wonderful  mani- 
festations, sometimes  purely  intellectual  and  con- 
sisting of  what  may  be  called  spiritual  revelations 
or  discoveries,  and  sometimes  accompanied  with 
great  joys  and  raptures ;  but  which  are  generally 
characterized  by  being  followed  with  long  inter- 
vals of  darkness,  temptation,  and  oftentimes  of  sin. 
Accordingly  the  whole  life  of  the  person,  in  many 
narratives  of  this  kind,  is  a  series  of  alternations  of 
these  very  diverse  states,  whereas  a  life  of  simple 
and  childlike  faith  in  God's  word,  based  upon  an 
unreserved  and  permanent  consecration,  keeps  the 
soul,  as  it  were,  in  equilibrium ;  converting  dark* 
ness  into  light,  removing  rocky  and  precipitous  ob- 
structions, and  making  all  things  even.  It  is  cer- 
tainly an  important  question,  whether  such  written 
and  published  Memoirs  as  have  been  mentioned, 
are  so  useful  reading  for  the  religious  community, 
as  they  are  generally  supposed  to  be.  I  have  often 
been  deeply  impressed  with  the  conviction,  that 
they  tend,  in  some  important  respects,  to  give  an 
erroneous  view  of  the  true  nature  of  the  religious 
hfe.  They  do  not  sound  to  me  like  the  life  of  Paul, 
and  still  less  like  the  life  of  the  Savior.  And  yet 
they  are  generally  regarded  as  more  interesting, 
and  are  undoubtedly  much  more  exciting,  than  the 
lives  of  those  eminent  Christians,  who  persevere  in 
the  even  and  delightful  tenor  of  their  way,  think- 
ing but  little  of  themselves  and  much  of  Christ, 
but  little  about  their  own  happiness  and  much  about 
the  glory  of  God ;  like  Thauler  of  the  fourteenth 


X78  OF  A  LIFB  OF  SIGNS  AND  MANIFESTATIONS, 

century  and  the  author  of  the  Imitation  of  Christ, 
like  Fenelon  and  Leighton  of  later  times,  like  Ed- 
wards and  Wesley,  who  lived  and  labored  and 
suffered,  in  the  fulfilment  of  a  constant  consecra- 
tion, and  in  the  exercise  of  a  constant  trust  in  their 
Heavenly  Father. 

(1.)  In  view  of  what  has  been  said  in  this  chapter, 
we  remark  in  the  first  place,  that  God  does  not  de- 
sign, that  men  in  the  present  life  should  live  by 
means  of  specific"  signs,  testimonies,  or  manifesta- 
tions, but  by  simple  faith  alone.  The  great  desiga 
of  the  Gospel,  in  its  practical  and  final  result  on 
man,  seems  to  be  to  restore  and  firmly  establish  the 
lost  principle  of  faith,  as  the  true  and  only  availa- 
able  basis  of  the  religious  life.  And  there  seems  to 
be  a  necessity  that  it  should  be  so.  From  the  na- 
ture of  the  case  there  never  can  be  any  true  recon- 
ciliation and  harmony  between  God  and  his  crea- 
tures, until  they  can  so  far  have  confidence  in  him 
as  to  receive  his  declarations,  and  to  draw  their  life, 
as  it  were,  from  the  words,  which  have  proceeded 
out  of  his  mouth.  In  any  other  way  of  living, 
whatever  may  be  the  nature  of  their  inward  or  out- 
ward experiences,  they  live  at  variance  with  the 
order  and  the  plans  of  God ;  out  of  the  line  of  hia 
precepts,  and  of  course  in  the  same  degree  out  of 
the  range  of  his  blessings.  And  hence  it  is,  that 
we  find  the  remarkable  expressions  of  the  Savior  to 
the  doubting  disciple.  "Because  thou  hast  seen  me, 
thou  hast  believed.  Blessed  are  they  that  have  not 
seen,  and  yet  have  believed." 

And  we  desire  here  as  a  matter  of  some  import 


AS  COMPARED  WITH  A  LIFE  OF  FAITH.  179" 

tance,  to  lay  down  a  practical  test  or  rule  on  this 
subject.     It  is  this.     Whenever  we  desire  a  specific 
experience,  whether  inward  or  outward,  whether 
of  the  intellect  or  the  affections,  antecedently  to  the 
exercise  of  faith,  we  are  necessarily  in  so  doing  seek- 
ing a  sign,  or  testimony,  or  something,  whatever 
we  may  choose  to  call  it,   additional  to  the  mere 
declaration  and  word  of  God.     There  is  obviously 
a  lingering  distrust  in  the  mind,  which  jostles  us 
out  of  the  line  of  God's  order ;  which  is  not  satis- 
fied with  his  way  of  bringing  the  world  into  recon- 
ciliation  with  himself;  and  under  the  influence  of 
which  we  are  looking  round  for  some  new  and  ad- 
ditional witness  for  our  faith  to  rest  upon.     In  other 
words,  although  we  may  not  be  fully  conscious  of 
it,  we  desire  a  sign.    In  the  language  of  the  experi- 
enced IMr.  Fletcher  of  Madely,  "we  want  to  see  our 
own  faith,"  a  state  of  mind,  which,  as  it  requires 
sight  to  see  our  faith  with,  in  other  words  a  basis 
of  faith  additional  to  that  which  God  has  already 
given,  is  necessarily  inconsistent  with  and  destruc- 
tive of  faith.     This  simple  test  will  aid  very  much, 
in  revealing  to  us  the  true  state  of  our  hearts.     We 
repeat  it,  therefore,  that  we  may  in  general  know, 
whether  the  experience  which  we  are  seeking,  is 
or  is  not,  of  the  nature  of  a  testimony  or  sign  re- 
quired of  God  as  the  condition  of  our  faith  and  obe- 
dience, by  the  mark  which  has  been  mentioned,  viz. 
when  we  seek  for  it,  whatever  it  is,  antecedent  to 
that    exercise    of  faith,  Avhich  is   willing  to    leave 
what  we  desire,  and  everything  which  has  relation 
to  us,  submissively  in  the  hands  of  God. 


X80  OF  A  LIFE  OF  SIGNS  AND  MANIFESTATIONS, 

(2.)  We  remark  again,  that  the  hfe  of  specific 
signs,  testimonies,  and  manifestations,  is  not  only- 
evil  by  being  a  deviation  from  the  way  of  faith ; 
but  is  evil  also  by  keeping  alive  and  cherishing  the 
selfish  principle,  instead  of  destroying  it.  He,  who 
seeks  to  live  in  this  manner,  instead  of  living  by 
simple  faith,  and  who  thus  shows  a  secret  prefer- 
ence of  specific  experiences,  modelled  after  his 
own  imaginations  of  things,  to  that  pearl  of  great 
price,  which  is  found  in  leaving  all  things  with 
God,  necessarily  seeks  to  have  things  in  his  own 
way.  The  way  of  faith  is  the  way  of  self-renuncia- 
tion ;  the  humbling  and  despised  way  of  our  per- 
sonal nothingness.  The  way  of  signs,  testimonies, 
and  manifestations,  is  the  way  of  one's  own  will ; 
and,  therefore,  naturally  tends  to  keep  alive  and 
nourish  the  destructive  principle  of  selfishness. 
The  lives  of  those,  who  attempt  to  live  in  this  way, 
with  some  variations  in  particular  cases,  may  bo 
regarded  as  an  evidence  of  the  general  correctness 
of  these  remarks.  They  seem  like  children  brought 
up  in  an  unwisely  indulgent  manner ;  not  unfre- 
quently  full  of  themselves,  when  they  are  gratified 
in  the  possession  of  their  particular  object,  and  full 
of  discouragement,  peevishness,  and  even  of  hos- 
tility, which  are  the  natural  results  of  the  work- 
ings of  self,  when  they  are  disappointed. 

(3.)  We  observe,  in  the  third  place,  that  anoth- 
er evil  of  that  system  of  the  religious  life,  which  is 
based  upon  signs  and  upon  preconceived  and  pre- 
scribed manifestations  and  experiences,  is,  that  it 
exposes  persons   to   alternations    and  reverses   of 


AS  COMPARED  WITH  A  LIFE    OF    FAITH.  181 

feeling,  which  are  injurious  to  the  subjects  of  them, 
and  are  prejudicial  to  the  cause  of  rehgion  in  the 
eyes  of  the  world.  Remarkable  manifestations 
and  experiences,  (and  those,  who  have  entered  in- 
to this  system,  are  not  generally  satisfied  with  any- 
thing short  of  what  is  remarkable,)  are  usually, 
and  from  our  present  physical  and  mental  consti- 
tution, perhaps  we  may  say,  are  necessarily  of  short 
continuance.  While  the  manifestations  or  specific 
experiences,  whatever  they  may  be,  continue,  the 
mind  is  in  a  state  of  wondering  and  generally  joy- 
ous excitement.  Bnt  when  the  termination  of 
these  seasons  comes,  which  is  commonly  proximate 
in  proportion  to  their  wonderful  nature,  then  suc- 
ceeds the  period  of  mental  depression,  of  darkness 
that  can  almost  be  felt,  of  horrible  temptations; 
Satan  saying  to  the  soul  continually,  where  now 
is  thy  God.  And  how  can  it  well  be  otherwise, 
when  those,  who  take  this  erroneous  course,  pray 
and  wrestle,  oftentimes  perhaps  without  being  ful- 
ly aware  of  it,  for  sight  rather  than  for  faith,  and 
for  revelations  which  gratify  the  natural  curiosity, 
rather  than  for  righteousness,  which  purifies  the 
heart, 

(4,) — We  observe  again  that  it  is  impossible,  as 
it  seems  to  us,  for  God  to  bring  a  soul  to  the  high- 
est results  of  religion  and  truly  to  sanctify  it,  so 
long  as  it  continues  in  this  disposition  of  seeking 
a  sign,  and  attempts  to  live  spiritually  by  means  of 
signs ;  or  that  in  any  other  way  proposes  to  regu- 
late God,  and  to  prescribe  conditions  to  Infinite 
Love.  One  expression,  and  a  very  satisfactory 
16 


182         OF  A  LIFE  OF  SIGNS  AND  MANIFESTATIONS, 

one,  of  sanctification,  is,  union  with  the  divine 
will;  in  other  words,  having  no  will  but  God's. 
"  He,  that  is  joined  to  the  Lord,  is  one  spirit." 
And  it  is  this  union  of  spirit  with  spirit,  of  will 
with  will,  which  God  especially  requires.  And 
just  so  far  as  there  is  a  divergence  of  the  human 
will  from  the  divine,  just  in  that  degree  it  is  very 
evident,  there  is,  and  must  be,  a  want  of  holiness. 
Now  God's  will,  (and  in  the  infinitude  of  his  per- 
fections it  cannot  be  otherwise,)  is,  that  we  should 
trust  Him,  both  his  character  and  his  declarations ; 
that,  in  respect  to  his  various  dealings  with  us, 
dealings  which  of  course  indicate  his  designs  and 
purposes,  we  should  lie  submissive  and  passive  in 
his  hands ;  and  that  the  language  of  our  hearts 
should  be  at  all  times,  "even  so.  Father,  for  so  it 
seemeth  good  in  thy  sight."  But  he,  who  seeks  a 
sign,  an  inward  or  outward  testimony,  a  specific 
and  preconceived  manifestation  of  any  kind,  as  the 
basis  of  the  inward  life  either  in  its  beginning  or 
its  advancement ;  in  other  words,  who  says  to  the 
Lord,  do  this  thing  or  that  thing,  whatever  it  may 
be,  and  then  I  will  give  Thee  my  heart  and  be- 
lieve in  Thee,  obviously  fails  to  exercise  the  re- 
quired trust  in  God.  And  consequently,  being 
wanting  in  the  true  spirit  of  harmony  and  union 
with  God,  he  cannot  rightly  be  regarded,  while 
remaining  in  this  state,  as  a  person,  to  whom  the 
character  of  sanctification  or  holiness  either  is,  or 
can  be  properly  ascribed. 

(5.) — We  remark,  finally,  that  a  life  of  faith,  in 
distinction  from  a  hfe  of  manifestations,  is  not  ne- 


AS  COMPARED  WITH  A  LIFE  OF  FAITH.  1S3 

cessarily,  as  some  seem  to  suppose,  exclusive  of 
feeling. — The  difficulty,  which  exists  in  the  minds 
of  those,  who  entertain  the  idea,  that  a  life  of  faith  is 
a  life  without  feeling,  arises  from  that  limited  view 
of  things,  which  considers  faith  in  its  own  nature, 
exclusive  of  its  relations  and  results.  And  it  may 
be  well  to  say  here,  that  a  thing  is  never  properly 
understood,  and  cannot  be  properly  understood  and 
known,  unless  it  is  understood  and  known  in  its 
relations  and  results,  as  well  as  in  itself.  And  on 
this  ground,  therefore,  we  assert,  the  relations  and 
results  of  faith  are  such,  that  it  is  a  great  mistake 
to  say,  that  a  life  of  faith  is  a  life  without  feeling. 
In  our  inquiries  into  the  nature  of  the  religious 
life,  we  wish,  if  possible,  to  ascertain  the  founda- 
tion principle,  the  corner-stone.  And  we  cannot' 
have  any  hesitation  in  saying,  both  from  the  Scrip- 
tures and  from  the  nature  and  reason  of  the  thing, 
that  this  principle  is,  and  must  be  faith.  Undoubt- 
edly there  may  be  feeling  of  some  kind  without 
faith ;  but  there  cannot  be  truly  acceptable  religious 
feeling  without  it.  Faith  must  precede.  I  think 
we  may  lay  it  down  as  a  fixed  and  unalterable 
principle,  that  any  feeling,  however  strong  it  may 
be,  which  exists  antecedent  to  faith,  or  which  exists 
irrespective  of  faith,  can  never  be  relied  on  as  of  a 
truly  religious  and  saving  value.  But  if  the  true 
doctrine  is,  that  faith  should  go  first,  it  is  never- 
theless true,  that  feeling  will  come  after.  In  all  ca- 
ses where  there  is  faith,  (we  mean  religious  faith, 
viz.  in  God,  in  Christ,  and  in  all  divine  declara- 
tions,) feeling  in  its  various  forms,  and  what  is  very 


184        OF  A  LIFE  OF  SIGNS  AND  MANIFESTATIONS, 

important,  the  right  kind  of  feehng,  will  naturally 
and  necessarily  flow  out.  It  will  be  such  feeling 
as  God  approves ;  it  will  be  such  feeling  as  filled 
the  bosom  of  the  Savior  while  here  on  earth ;  al- 
ways appropriate  to  the  occasion,  sometimes  gentle 
and  sometimes  strong,  sometimes  characterized  by 
joy  and  sometimes  by  sorrow,  always  bearing  the 
marks  of  purity  and  benevolence,  but  always, 
when  the  exercise  of  faith  exists  in  the  highest  de- 
gree, distinguished  by  the  beautiful  trait  of  calm- 
ness and  peace. 

We  might  pursue  this  important  subject  further ; 
but  we  leave  it  with  a  single  observation,  accom- 
panied by  a  reference  to  an  experienced  and  able 
writer.  We  desire  it  to  be  understood  as  consistent 
with  what  has  been  said,  that  such  specific  signs, 
revelations,  and  manifestations,  and  also  such  pe- 
culiarities of  the  more  inward  and  aff'ective  experi- 
ence as  have  been  referred  to  in  the  present  chap- 
ter, are  good  in  their  place.  And  if  it  be  inquired 
what  their  place  is,  the  proper  answer  seems  to  be, 
when  they  are  sent  of  God,  unsought  by  the  creature. 
If  God,  in  the  wisdom  of  his  unsearchable  provi- 
dence, sees  fit,  for  special  purposes  and  on  special 
occasions,  to  make  remarkable  revelations  of  eter- 
nal things,  as  he  did  on  a  few  occasions  to  Stephen, 
and  Paul,  and  John,  or  in  any  other  ways  to  im- 
part some  marked  peculiarities  to  our  experience, 
we  are  to  receive  them  in  a  becoming  temper  of 
mind.  And  to  such  occasions  the  humble  Chris- 
tian, who  is  deeply  impressed  with  his  own  igno- 


AS  COMPARED  WITH  A  LIFE  OF  FAITH.  1S5 

ranee  and  dependence,  and  desires  nothing  but  that 
he  may  be  holy,  will  cheerfully  leave  them. 

"  If  God  indulge  you,"  says  Mr.  Fletcher  of  Made- 
ley,  "  with  ecstacies  and  extraordinary  revelations, 
be  thankful  for  them ;  but  be  not  exalted  above 
measure  by  them.  Take  care,  lest  enthusiastic 
delusions  mix  themselves  with  them  ;  and  remem- 
ber that  your  Christian  perfection  does  not  so  much 
consist  in  building  a  tabernacle  upon  mount  Tabor, 
to  rest  and  enjoy  rare  sights  there,  as  in  resolute- 
ly taking  up  the  cross,  and  following  Christ  to  the 
palace  of  a  proud  Caiaphas,  to  the  judgment  hall 
of  an  unjust  Pilate,  and  to  the  top  of  an  ignomin- 
ious Calvary.  Ye  never  read  in  your  Bibles,  '  Let 
that  glory  be  upon  you  which  was  also  upon  Ste- 
phen, when  he  looked  up  stedfastly  into  heaven, 
and  said,  Behold!  I  see  the  heavens  opened,  and  the 
Son  of  man  standing  on  the  right  hand  of  God.^  But 
ye  have  frequently  read  there,  '  Let  this  mind  be 
in  you,  which  was  also  in  Christ  Jesus,  who  made 
himself  of  no  reputation,  but  took  upon  him  the 
form  of  a  servant,  and  being  found  in  fashion  as  a 
man,  humbled  himself,  and  became  obedient  mito 
death,  even  the  death  of  the  cross.' " 


16* 


CHAPTER  SEVENTEENTH. 


On  the  Entire  Subjection  of  the  Will. 

Perhaps  it  is  not  well  understood,  but  it  is  cer- 
tainly true,  that  one  of  the  greatest  evils  to  which 
we  can  be  exposed  in  our  present  fallen  condition, 
is  to  have  a  will  of  our  own.  It  is  not  meant  by 
this,  that  we  may  not  have  a  will  different  from 
that  of  our  fellow  men,  nor  is  it  meant  that  we 
may  not  have  a  strong,  energetic  will;  but  that  it 
is  one  of  the  greatest  evils,  perhaps  the  very  great- 
est to  which  we  can  be  subject,  to  have  a  will  of 
our  own,  in  distinction  from,  and  at  variance  with 
the  divine  will.  In  this  last  sense,  he  who  ap- 
proaches nearest  to  an  annihilation  of  his  own  will, 
approaches  nearest  to  the  state  of  perfect  union 
with  God .  The  prostration  of  our  own  will,  in 
such  a  sense  that  it  shall  not  in  any  respect  oppose 
itself  to  the  will  of  God,  seems  to  be  the  completion 
or  consummation  of  those  various  interior  proces- 
ses, by  which  the  heart  is  purified.  The  moment 
our  faith  in  God  wavers,  that  moment  we  begin  to 
form  our  own  plans  and  to  set  up  our  own  wills. 
The  moment  we  cease  to  hunger  and  thirst  after 
righteousness,  and  to  desire  earnestly  a  conformity 


ON  THE  ENTIRE  SUBJECTION  OF  THE  WILL.  187 

to  the  divine  image,  that  moment  we  begin  to  see 
the  movements  of  a  will  operating  in  its  own  way, 
and  throwing  itself  out  of  the  line  of  God's  blessed 
wisdom.  So  that  we  can  have  no  hesitancy  in 
saying,  that  a  will  perfectly  coincident  with  the 
will  of  God,  is  at  the  same  time  the  natural  result 
and  the  highest  evidence  of  a  sanctified  heart. 
When  the  will  in  its  personal  or  self-interested  op- 
eration is  entirely  prostrated,  so  that  we  can  say 
with  the  Saviour,  "  Lo,  I  come  to  do  thy  will," 
then  the  wall  of  spiritual  separation  is  taken  away, 
and  the  soul  may  be  said,  through  the  open  en- 
trance, to  find  a  passage,  as  it  were,  into  God  him- 
self, and  to  become  one  with  Him,  in  a  mysterious 
but  holy  and  glorious  union.  Then,  and  not  till 
then,  can  it  be  truly  said  that  the  warfare  against 
God  has  ceased,  and  a  perfect  reconciliation  taken 
place,  enabling  those  who  have  arrived  at  this  bles- 
sed state  to  exclaim,  with  the  Savior,  (perhaps  in  a 
modified  but  still  in  a  true  and  most  important 
sense,)  "I  and  my  Father  are  one." 

"The  highest  mystery  of  a  divine  life  here," 
says  the  learned  and  pious  Dr.  Cudworth,*  "and 
of  perfect  happiness  hereafter,  consisteth  in  nothing 
but  mere  obedience  to  the  divine  will.  Happiness  is 
nothing  but  that  inward  sweet  delight  that  will 
arise  from  the  harmonious  agreement  between  our 
wills  and  God's  will.  There  is  nothing  contrary 
to  God  in  the  whole   world,  nothing  that  fights 

*  Cudworth's  Criterion  of  the  true  knowledge  of  Christ ;  a  ser- 
mon preached  before  the  EngUsh  House  of  Commons,  March  31, 
1647. 


188  ON  THE  ENTIRE  SUBJECTION 

against  him,  but  self-will.  This  is  the  strong  cas- 
tle that  we  all  keep  garrisoned  against  heaven  in 
every  one  of  our  hearts,  which  God  continually 
layeth  siege  unto ;  and  it  must  be  conquered  and 
demolished  before  we  can  conquer  heaven.  It  was 
by  reason  of  this  self-will  that  Adam  fell  in  Para- 
dise; that  those  glorious  angels,  those  morning 
stars,  kept  not  their  first  station,  but  dropped  down 
from  heaven  like  falling  stars,  and  sunk  into  this 
condition  of  bitterness,  anxiety,  and  wretchedness, 
in  which  they  now  are.  They  all  entangled  them- 
selves with  the  length  of  their  own  wings ;  they 
would  needs  will  more  and  otherwise,  than  God 
would  will  in  them.  And  going  about  to  make 
their  wills  wider,  and  to  enlarge  them  into  greater 
amplitude,  the  more  they  struggled  they  found 
themselves  the  faster  pinioned,  and  crowded  up 
into  narrowness  and  servility,  insomuch  that  now 
they  are  not  able  to  use  any  wings  at  all ;  but  in- 
heriting the  serpent's  curse,  can  only  creep  with 
their  bellies  on  the  earth.  Now  our  only  way  to 
recover  God  and  happiness  again,  is,  not  to  soar 
up  with  our  understandings,  but  to  destroy  this  self- 
will  of  ours.  And  then  we  shall  find  our  wings  to 
grow  again,  our  plumes  fairly  spread,  and  our- 
selves raised  aloft  into  the  free  air  of  perfect  liber- 
ty, which  is  perfect  happiness." 

Wherever  there  has  been  this  entire  prostration 
of  the  will,  a  great  and  effectual  work  has  been 
accomplished  in  the  soul.  And  it  will  show  itself 
in  a  number  of  important  particulars. 

(1.) — In  the  first  place,  the  person  whose  will  is 


OF  THE  WILL.  1S9 

entirely  subdued,  so  as  to  be  one  with  the  divine 
will,  will  discover  an  unruffled  meekness  and  qui" 
etness  of  spirit,  when  called  in  the  Divine  Provi- 
dence to  endure  the  smaller  and  more  frequent  in- 
conveniences and  vexations  of  life.  Nor  is  the  ev- 
idence, which  is  thus  presented  of  an  entire  subjec- 
tion of  the  will,  to  be  regarded  as  inconsiderable 
and  unimportant.  It  is  truly  sad  and  humihating 
to  see  many,  who,  in  the  comparative  sense  of  the 
term,  are  good  Christians,  that  are,  nevertheless, 
uneasy,  and  are  inwardly  and  outwardly  vexed,  on 
many  trivial  occasions.  Some  little  disappoint- 
ment in  business,  an  unfavorable  remark  which  is 
scarcely  worth  notice,  some  small  and  perhaps  ac- 
cidental inattention  on  the  part  of  others,  disturbs 
and  agitates  the  soul,  not  only  to  its  own  injury, 
but  to  the  pain  and  injury  of  beholders.  A  soul 
that  is  at  rest  in  God  by  the  real  subjection  of  its 
will,  easily  surmounts  these  trials.  Such  an  one 
moves  spiritually  in  too  high  a  sphere,  is  too  much 
occupied  with  the  infinitude  of  the  great  object  of 
its  love,  to  regard  as  an  insult  every  small  neglect 
of  the  forms  of  politeness.  It  has  neither  time  nor 
disposition  to  require  an  explanation  of  every  idle 
word  that  may  admit  of  an  unfavorable  import; 
nor  will  it  suffer  itself  to  be  thrown  into  peevish- 
ness and  ill  humor  at  the  many  little  jarrings  and 
frictions,  on  whatever  occasions  they  may  arise, 
which  are  almost  inseparable  from  the  machinery 
of  human  life. 

(2.) — The  same  meek  and  subdued  temper  of 
mind,  the  same  subjection  of  the  will,  will  show  it- 


190  ON  THE  ENTIRE  SUBJECTION 

self,  in  the  second  place,  in  connection  with  what 
may  properly  be  called  afflictions.  The  man, 
whose  will  has  passed  from  his  own  unsafe  keep- 
ing to  the  high  custody  of  a  divine  direction,  has 
no  disposition  to  complain,  when  God,  in  his  holy 
providence,  in  depriving  him  of  health,  of  property, 
and  friends,' has  laid  waste  his  fairest  earthly  pros- 
pects. He  has  perfect  faith  in  God  that  he  will  do 
all  things  well,  and  so  far  from  indulging  in  repi- 
nings  and  murmurings,  he  blesses  the  rod  that 
smites  him.  This  remark  will  apply  not  only  to 
the  loss  of  health,  property,  and  friends;  but  will 
apply  equally  well  to  the  loss  of  intellectual  gifts, 
to  the  loss  of  the  powers  of  reasoning,  of  language, 
and  the  like.  We  know  that  the  Christian  virtue, 
to  which  we  now  have  reference,  is  exercised  to 
some  extent  by  Christians,  who  fall  far  short  of  the 
grace  of  entire  sanctification  ;  but  it  is  exercised 
perfectly  and  in  the  highest  degree,  only  by  those 
whose  wills  are  entirely  subdued. 

(3.) — AVe  remark,  thirdly,  that  the  entire  sub- 
jection of  the  will  is  seen  in  the  quietness  and  si- 
lence of  spirit,  with  which  misrepresentations  and 
persecutions  are  endured.  That  the  people  of  the 
world  should  be  greatly  agitated,  and  should  find 
in  themselves  the  movings  of  a  rebellious  and  bel- 
ligerent spirit,  when  their  motives  are  aspersed  and 
their  characters  injured,  is  entirely  natural.  And, 
unhappily,  when  persecution  arises,  we  see  too 
much  of  this  unquiet  and  rebellious  spirit,  even  in 
those  whom  charity  requires  us  to  recognize  as 
Christians.     Not  so  with  those  Christians  of  a  high- 


OF  THE  WILL.  191 

er  grade,  whose  wills  act  in  perfect  harmony  with 
the  divine  will.  That  they  are  afflicted,  when 
they  they  are  subject  to  unjust  persecutions,  is  true; 
but  they  are  not  rebellious ;  they  are  not  disquiet- 
ed ;  and  although  they  are  afflicted,  they  are  not 
unhappy,  /^hey  connect  with  the  instrument 
which  troiroles  them,  the  hand  of  God,  which  per- 
mits the  agency  of  that  instrument,  j  Strong  in  a 
faith  which  has  become  habitual  to  them,  they  see 
everything  in  its  relation  to  the  divine  mind.  They 
regard  the  persecutions  they  endure  as  the  lot 
which  God  has  appointed  to  them;  and  as  such 
they  rejoice  in  it.  But  this  could  not  be,  if  their 
wills,  renouncing  all  private  and  selfish  modes  of 
action,  did  not  move  harmoniously  with  the  divine 
will. 

(4) — A  perfect  subjection  of  the  will  discov- 
ers its  good  fruits,  in  the  fourth  place,  by  entire 
meekness  and  submission  under  God's  interior  and 
spiritual  dealings  with  the  soul.  There  are  certain 
spiritual  gifts,  which  God  in  his  unspeakable  mer- 
cy has  pledged  himself  for  Christ's  sake  to  give  to 
his  people ;  and  which  they  may  always  have  for 
the  asking,  if  they  will  ask  in  the  spirit  of  conse- 
cration and  faith.  God  will  never  under  any  cir- 
cumstances withhold  from  his  people  purity  of 
heart,  the  spirit  of  submission,  forgiveness,  and 
love;  nor  any  of  those  pure  and  lovely  traits  of, 
temper  and  disposition,  which  characterized  and 
perfected  the  nature  of  Jesus  Christ.  But  there 
are  other  spiritual  gifts,  which  are  rather  of  an  in- 
tellectual than  an  affective  character,  and  belong 


192  ON  THE  ENTIRE  SUBJECTION 

rather  to  the  head  than  the  heart,  such  as  the  gifts 
of  knowledge  and  of  ready  expression,  and  the 
mere  perceptive  or  cognitive  manifestation  of  heav- 
enly things,  which  might  gratify  the  curiosity  more 
than  improve  the  affections.  These  things  God 
gives  or  withholds  as  he  pleases  ;  catching  one  up, 
like  the  apostle  Paul,  into  the  third  heavens,  where 
he  sees  and  hears  unutterable  things ;  and  keeping 
another,  so  far  as  illuminations  of  this  kind  are 
concerned,  in  a  state  of  comparative  ignorance  and 
abjection. 

Nor  is  this  all.  He  oftentimes  mingles  bitterness 
in  the  cup  of  those,  to  whom  he  has  given  the 
purest  and  holiest  affections.  The  Savior  himself 
was  a  man  of  sorrows  and  acquainted  with  grief. 
And  for  wise  reasons,  especially  that  they  may 
learn  the  great  and  indispensable  lesson  of  walking 
wholly  by  faith,  he  often  leaves  his  people  not  only 
to  sorrows  from  without,  but  oftentimes  to  heavy 
sorrows  within.  But  the  Christian,  whose  will  is 
entirely  subdued,  will  drink  this  portion  also.  All 
he  asks,  and  what  he  feels  he  must  have,  is  holi- 
ness ;  and  if  with  this  cup  of  God  and  of  angels, 
his  heavenly  Father  sees  fit  to  mingle  some  ingre- 
dient of  bitterness,  to  remind  him  of  his  former  sin- 
ful state,  and  to  teach  him  more  fully  the  way  of 
submission  and  faith,  he  cheerfully  accepts  it.  God 
may  take  from  him  all  mere  intellectual  manifesta- 
tions of  spiritual  things ;  he  may  even  deprive  him 
of  the  ordinary  intellectual  powers,  and  reduce  him 
almost  to  a  state  of  idiocy ;  he  may  pour  into  his 
heart  the  deepest  amazement  and  grief,  and  yet 


OF  THE  WILL.  193 

his  language  is,  "  Not  my  will,  0  God,  but  thine 
be  done."  He  knows,  notwithstanding  his  afflic- 
tions, that  he  is  dear  to  God ;  and  that  his  name  is 
written  on  the  heart  of  infinite  love.  He  knows 
that  he  is  just  in  that  place  where  God  has  seen 
fit  and  best  to  place  him ;  and  that  he  endures  just 
what  God  sees  best  he  should  endure;  and  he 
would  not  even  now,  though  thick  darkness  is 
around  his  path,  exchange  his  position  for  that  of 
angels. 

(5.) — Finally,  as  embracing  nearly  the  whole 
subject,  the  man,  who  has  experienced  the  practi- 
cal annihilation  of  his  own  will,  does  everything 
and  sufiers  everything  precisely  in  the  order  of  God's 
providence.  It  is  the  present  moment,  considered 
as  indicating  the  divine  arrangement  of  things, 
which  furnishes  the  truest  and  safest  test  of  char- 
acter. Holiness  requires  the  fulfilment  of  our 
whole  duty ;  and  our  duty  necessarily  has  relation 
to  the  facts  which  God's  providence  now  presents 
before  us.  If  our  whole  soul  goes  forth  in  obedience 
to  what  his  holy  providence  now  imposes  on  us, 
then,  and  not  otherwise,  are  we  acceptable  in  his 
sight.  It  is  necessary,  therefore,  to  keep  our  eye 
fixed  upon  God's  order  of  things.  "\V*e  must  do 
this  in  relation  to  our  place  and  situation  in  life, 
whatever  it  may  be ;  not  murmuring  at  our  sup- 
posed ill  lot ;  not  giving  way  to  any  eager  desires 
of  change  ;  but  remaining  quietly  and  humbly  just 
where  God  has  seen  fit  to  place  us.  We  must 
take  this  course,  also,  (which  is  sometimes  a  more 

17 


194  ON  THE  ENTIRE  SUBJECTION 

difficult  thing,)  in  relation  to  our  duties.  We  must 
not  only  do  the  right  thing,  but  must  endeavor  to 
do  it  it  in  the  right  time;  which  is  not  our  time,  or 
that  which  mere  human  wisdom  would  suggest, 
but  God's  time.  It  is  one  of  Satan's  artifices,  not 
merely  to  prevent  the  discharge  of  duties,  but  when 
this  fails,  to  prevent  the  performance  of  them  at  the 
right  time ;  for  instance,  by  infusing  in  us  too  great 
eagerness  of  spirit,  and  leading  us  in  our  hurry  to 
anticipate  the  divine  order.  When  he  makes  us 
do  this,  he  secures  his  object  in  a  considerable  de- 
gree at  least ;  because  if  we  do  the  precise  thing 
which  God  requires  of  us,  we  nevertheless  sin  in 
the  manner  of  doing  it.  It  is  of  the  highest  impor- 
tance, therefore,  that  we  should  keep  our  will  in 
complete  subjection  to  the  divine  moment,  the  mo- 
ment of  God,  which  is  the  present  moment.  The 
question  which  should  be  ever  present,  is,  what 
does  God  require  of  me  now  7  And  we  are  to  re- 
member, that  God  makes  known  his  order  in  parts, 
and  not  as  a  whole ;  he  has  his  oicn  plan  and  not 
ours ;  and  he  reveals  it  in  his  own  time  and  degree, 
and  not  in  ours.  We  must  receive  it,  therefore, 
humbly  and  submissively,  just  as  he  presents  it  to 
us ;  though,  in  the  view  of  our  limited  understand- 
ings, nothing  but  clouds  and  darkness  may  rest  up- 
on the  future.  It  is  a  mind  in  this  position  which 
God  is  pleased  with;  which  sees  the  divine  develop- 
ments in  everything  that  takes  place ;  and  which,  in 
every  situation,  walks  in  the  simplicity  of  naked 
faith. 


OF  THE  WILL.  195 

[  Francis  de  Sales,  at  the  end  of  his  religious  Maxims,  relates 
•  the  following  conversation,  as  having  taken  place  between  Tauler, 
a  learned  and  popular  preacher  of  the  fourteenth  century,  and  an 
obscure  beggar.  It  is  introduced  here,  as  having  some  connec- 
tion with  the  foregoing  chapter.] 

"  A  great  Divine  prayed  to  God,  during  the  space 
of  eight  years,  that  he  would  he  graciously  pleased 
to  direct  him  to  a  man  who  might  teach  him  the 
true  way  to  heaven.  It  was  said  to  him  at  length, 
'  Go  to  such  a  church  porch,  and  there  thou  shalt 
find  a  man,  who  will  instruct  thee  in  the  spiritual 
life.'  Accordingly  he  went,  and  found  a  poor  beg- 
gar very  meanly  clad.  He  saluted  him  in  these 
words,  '  God  give  you  a  good  day,  my  friend.'  The 
poor  man  answered,  '  Sir,  I  do  not  remember  that 
I  ever  had  an  evil  day.'  The  doctor  said  to  him, 
'  God  give  you  a  good  and  happy  life.'  '  Why  say 
you  that  ?  '  replied  the  beggar ;  '  I  never  was  un- 
happy.' 'God  bless  you,  my  friend,'  said  the 
doctor,  '  Pray,  tell  me  what  you  mean.'  He  re- 
plied, '  That  I  shall  willingly  do.  I  told  you  first, 
I  never  had  an  evil  day ;  for  when  I  have  hunger, 
I  praise  God ;  if  it  rain,  hail,  snow  or  freeze,  be  it 
fair  or  foul ;  or  if  I  am  despised  or  ill-used,  I  re- 
turn God  thanks ;  so  I  never  had  an  ill  day :  nor 
have  I  ever  been  unhappy,  since  I  have  learned  al- 
ways to  resign  myself  to  his  will,  being  very  cer- 
tain of  this,  that  all  his  works  are  perfectly  good  ; 
and  therefore  I  never  desire  any  thing  else  but  the 
good  pleasure  of  God.'  Then  said  the  doctor, 
'  But  what  if  the  good  pleasure  of  God  should  be 
to  cast  you  hence  into  hell  7 '    '  If  he  would  do  so, '  re- 


196    ON  THE  ENTIRE  SUBJECTION  OF  THE  WILL. 

plied  the  other,  '  I  have  two  arms  to  embrace  him 
with;  the  one  whereof  is  a  profound  humility,  by 
which  I  am  united  to  his  holy  humanity  ;  the  oth- 
er is  love  or  charity,  which  joins  me  to  his  divinity. 
Embraced  with  these  two  arms  he  would  descend 
with  me  thither,  if  thither  he  ordered  me  :  and  there 
I  had  infinitely  rather  be  with  him,  than  in  para- 
dise without  him.'  Hereby  the  doctor  learned 
that  a  true  resignation  to  the  divine  will,  accompa- 
nied with  profound  humility  of  heart,  is  the  short- 
est way  to  attain  God's  love. 

After  that,  he  asked  him  again  from  whence  he 
came.  The  poor  man  answered,  God  sent  him. 
The  doctor  enquired  of  him  where  he  found  God. 
He  replied,  '  I  found  him  where  I  had  renounced 
all  the  creatures.'  '  And  where  did  you  leave 
him  1 '  said  the  doctor.  He  replied,  '  With  the 
poor  in  spirit,  the  pure  in  heart,  and  men  of  chari- 
ty.' '  But  who  are  you  ?  '  says  the  divine.  '  I 
am  a  king,'  says  the  beggar.  'Where  is  your 
kingdom?  '  says  the  former.  '  In  my  soul,'  says 
the  latter  :  '  I  have  learned  to  bring  into  subjection, 
and  to  govern  my  senses,  as  well  outward  as  in- 
ward, with  my  affections  and  passions,  Avhich 
kingdom  is  undoubtedly  superior  to  all  the  king- 
doms of  this  Avorld.'  The  doctor  then  asked  him 
by  what  means  he  had  attained  to  such  perfection. 
He  answered,  'By  silence,  watchfulness,  meditation, 
prayer,  and  the  union  I  have  with  God.  I  could 
find  no  sure  repose,  or  comfort,  in  any  creature  of 
the  world  ;  by  means  whereof  I  found  out  my  God, 
who  will  comfort  me  world  without  end.'  " 


CHAPTER  EIGHTEENTH. 


On  the  Joy  of  Faith  in  the  want  and  desolation  of  all 
things  else. 

"In  the  world  ye  shall  have  tribulation"  is  a 
declaration  of  the  Savior,  confirmed  by  individual 
and  gent^ral  experience.  Even  the  most  devoted 
Christians  are  not  exempt.  The  tribulations,  to 
which  the  people  of  God  are  subject,  are  internal, 
as  well  as  external ;  sorrows  of  the  mind  as  well  as 
sufferings  of  the  body.  Sometimes  they  are  very 
great.  There  are  some  occasions,  on  which  all 
those  subordinate  consolations,  of  which  God  gen- 
erally permits  his  people  in  a  greater  or  less  degree 
to  partake,  are  taken  away.  There  is  left  to  them 
neither  the  vivacity  of  health  nor  the  consolation 
of  friends ;  no  pleasures  of  social  intercourse ;  no 
prosperity  in  worldly  business ;  no  rest  from  out- 
ward persecutions;  no  cessation  from  the  bitter 
temptations  of  the  adversary.  This,  it  will  be 
said,  is  an  extreme  case ;  but  it  is  only  extreme  ca- 
ses, of  which,  in  the  present  chapter,  we  propose 
to  speak.  There  is  reason  to  sup])ose,  that  many 
souls,  whom  God  designs  to  bring  to  the  highest 
degree  of  purity  in  this  life,  especially  if  they  are 


193  ON  THE  JOV  OF  FAITH  IN  THE  WANT  AND 

disposed  to  resist  and  do  not  render  themselves  up 
easily  to  his  great  purpose,  will  be  called  upon  to 
pass  through  some  heavy  and  perhaps  extreme 
trials.  Such  trials  seem  oftentimes  to  be  rendered 
necessary.  Necessary,  not  in  the  nature  of  things, 
but  on  account  of  the  corruption  of  the  natural 
heart.  The  possession  of  internal  purity  implies 
the  entire  crucifixion  of  self;  and  this  is  an  opera- 
tion which  the  natural  heart  finds  it  hard  to  sub- 
mit to.  Hence  it  is,  that  earthly  joys  are  tempora- 
rily dried  up ;  that  human  consolations  are  taken 
away;  and  '•  the  axe  is  laid  at  the  root "  of  all  the 
sources  of  self-seeking  and  self-enjoyment ;  in  or- 
der that  the  soul  may  experience  the  truth*  and  the 
severity  of  inward  crucifixion. 

It  is  at  such  a  time,  and  amid  these  various  and 
unmitigated  trials,  that  the  soul  sustains  itself  by 
FAITH ;  by  what  is  variously  called  in  different  wri- 
ters, but  generally  as  I  suppose  with  the  same 
meaning,  "simple  faith",  "pure  faith",  or  "naked 
faith."  And  there  seems  to  be  a  marked  propriety 
in  these  forms  of  expression ;  because  faith,  as  the 
sustaining  principle,  stands  at  such  times  alone.  All 
human  supports  are  removed.  On  every  side  there 
appears  discouragement  and  darkness  ;  and  it  is  by 
faith  and  faith  onl)'-,  that  the  soul  is  enabled  to  re- 
tain its  religious  integrity-.  It  is  under  such  cir- 
cumstances, that  faith  becomes,  as  it  were,  a  supe- 
rior and  guiding  faculty  of  the  soul ;  upon  which 
the  other,  especially  the  various  inferior  principles, 
seem  to  rest.  While  the  subordinate  principles  of 
our   nature,  the  natural  desires,  and  the  various 


DESOLATION  OF  ALL  THINGS  ELSE.        199 

forms  of  natural  affection,  are  assailed  by  their  ap- 
propriate temptations,  and  sometimes  in  a  very  se- 
vere and  terrible  manner,  they  derive  from  the  sub- 
lime principle  of  faith,  which  stands  in  its  central 
position  of  strength  and  grandeur,  a  defensive  and 
repulsive  power,  which  makes  them  more  than 
conquerors. 

But  the  principle  or  truth,  which  we  wish  par- 
ticularly to  impress  upon  the  reader's  mind,  in 
tliese  remarks,  is  this.  When  all  earthly  comforts 
are  dried  up,  and  when  faith  alone  remains  as  the 
sustaining  principle  of  the  soul,  there  is  an  interior 
consolation,  deep  and  tranquil,  flowing  out  from 
faith  itself.  This  is  a  circumstance,  which  is  often 
overlooked.  But  it  is  a  great  truth,  contrary  to  the 
opinion  of  some  who  do  not  fully  understand  the 
nature  of  the  divine  operation  in  the  soul,  that  there 
is  a  JOY  IN  FAITH.  The  life  of  faith,  though  it  may 
be  destitute  of  every  outward  support  and  comfort, 
is  not  so  desolate  in  itself,  so  wanting  in  every 
thing  that  brings  inward  happiness,  as  some  seem 
to  suppose.  It  is  true,  sustained  in  the  spirit  of 
self-sacrifice,  and  seeking  nothing  but  unity  with 
the  divine  will,  it  never  aims  at  consolation  as  an 
ultimate  object.  It  thinks  more  of  what  God  is, 
tlian  of  what  he  gives.  And  thus  God  himself,  the 
great  original  of  all  good,  becomes  the  fountain  of 
the  soul's  joy.  And  the  joy,  which  is  thus  experi- 
enced, is  necessarily  a  pure  joy,  uncontaminated 
by  any  mixture  of  self.  Ask  those  pious  persons, 
who  in  the  exercise  of  faith  are  endeavoring  to  lay 
all  upon  the  altar  of  God,  but  who,  nevertheless,  are 


200  ON  THE  JOY  OF  FAITH. 

called  in  the  course  of  his  wise  but  mysterious  deal- 
mgs  and  providences  to  pass  througli  the  extremity 
of  interior  and  exterior  desolation,  if  they  are  sus- 
tained by  anything  in  the  nature  of  consolation,  and 
they  will  readily  answer  in  the  affirmative.  Their 
language  is,  if  they  have  nothing  else,  they  have 
the  consolation  which  flows  from  believing.  If  the 
sweetness  of  every  other  fountain  is  closed,  they 
still  have  the  joy  of  faith. 

This  is  one  of  the  unalterable  conditions  of  faith, 
especially  when  it  exists  in  a  high  degree,  viz.  that 
it  is  attended  with  a  pure  and  tranquil  consolation  ; 
a  consolation  so  sure  and  permanent,  that  we  can 
never  be  deprived  of  it,  whatever  else  may  be  taken 
away.  The  soul  is  led  up,  as  it  were,  into  the  moun- 
tain of  God's  protection.  In  the  attitude  of  calm  re- 
pose, it  remains  established  on  that  sublime  height 
with  the  sunlight  of  heavenly  peace  for  its  compan- 
ion, while  there  is  nothing  but  darkness  and  the 
roaring  of  tempests  in  the  vallies  below.  Such  was 
the  pure  and  sublime  consolation,  which  our  Savior 
experienced,  when  his  heavenly  Father  had  with- 
drawn from  him  the  manifestations  of  his  love,  and 
left  him  in  extreme  and  inexpressible  desolation  of 
spirit.  He  still  possessed,  though  apparently  and 
terribly  forsaken,  the  consolation  and  the  joy  of 
faith.  He  could  still  recognize  the  bond  of  union, 
and  still  appropriate,  as  it  were,  his  Heavenly  Fath- 
er to  himself,  and  say,  ''My  God,"  "JI/yGod." 


CHAPTER  NINETEENTH, 


On  the  nature  of  the  temptations  of  a  Sanctified  Heart. 

It  is  our  object,  in  the  present  chapter,  to  give  a 
general  outUne  of  the  subject  of  temptations ;  but 
particularly  of  the  temptations  of  a  heart,  that  is 
so  far  given  to  the  Lord,  that  it  may  properly  be 
regarded  as  in  a  state  of  assurance  and  of  sanctifica- 
tion.  Temptations,  or  tempting  objects,  are  those 
objects,  which  are  presented  by  the  intellect  to  the 
sensibilities  and  the  will ;  and  are  of  such  a  nature 
that  they  have  a  tendency  to  induce  or  cause  in  the 
sensitive  part  of  our  nature,  viz.  in  the  appetites, 
propensities,  and  affections,  and  also  in  the  will, 
a  wrong  action  Sometimes  the  action,  to  which 
the  temptations  lead,  is  wrong  in  the  fact  of  its 
existence,  or  in  itself  considered ;  and  sometimes  it 
is  wrong  only  in  the  degree  of  its  existence.  If 
the  temptations  advance  in  their  influence  beyond 
the  intellect  and  take  efl:ect  in  the  desires  and  will, 
prompting  them  to  action  when  they  should  not 
act  at  all,  or  prompting  them  to  a  prohibited  and 
inordinate  degree  of  action  when  they  are  permitted 
to  act,  they  are  always  attended  with  sin.  And  in 
accordance  with  this  general  and  somewhat  indef- 


202     ON  THE  NATURE  OF  THE  TEMPTATIONS 

iiiite  statement,  temptations  may  be  regarded  as 
presenting  themselves  to  our  notice  in  two  aspects 
or  in  two  points  of  view. 

First. — We  observe,  in  the  first  place,  that  the 
tendency  of  temptations,  in  some  instances,  is,  to 
bring  feelings  into  existence,  which,  under  the  cir- 
cumstances of  the  case,  are  wrong  in  the  very  fact 
of  their  existence,  wrong  in  their  very  nature,  and 
which  therefore  ought  not  to  exist  at  all.  The 
temptation,  by  a  special  concurrence  of  circumstan- 
ces, or  through  the  well  calculated  influence  of 
Satanic  agency,  is  precisely  adapted  to  that  par- 
ticular wrong  result.  And  if  the  feeling,  appropri- 
ate to  the  temptation,  exists,  not  only  in  a  degree 
inordinate  and  irregular,  but  if  it  exists  at  all,  it  is 
sin.  Our  Savior  was  at  a  certain  time  tempted  by 
having  the  kingdoms  and  wealth  of  this  world  pre- 
sented before  him,  obviously  with  the  view  of  their 
being  desired  and  possessed  by  him  as  a  means  of 
personal  aggrandizement  and  enjoyment;  but  we 
suppose  we  give  the  general  sentiment  of  Chris- 
tians and  of  biblical  interpreters,  in  saying,  that 
the  temptation  went  no  further,  and  under  the  cir- 
cumstances of  the  case  could  innocently  go  no  fur- 
tlier,  than  the  thoughts.  It  had  no  eflect  upon  the 
Savior's  desires  or  will;  that  is  to  say,  it  secured 
no  pleased  and  consentient  action ;  but  was  instant- 
ly rejected. — The  temptation  presented  to  the  Sa- 
vior at  the  same  time,  to  throw  himself  down  from 
the  temple,  is  equally  appropriate  and  decisive, 
considered  as  an  illustration  of  the  present  subject. 
It  could  hardly  be  considered  less  than  a  proposi- 


OF  A  SANCTIFIED  HEART.  203 

tion  under  a  very  specious  pretext,  to  commit  him- 
self immediately  and  fully  into  the  hands  of  Satan, 
instead  of  remaining  in  the  will  and  under  the  gov- 
ernment of  God.  Considered  intellectually,  or  rath- 
er in  reference  to  the  intellect,  there  is  no  doubt 
that  the  temptation  was  distinctly  perceived  and 
appreciated  in  itself  and  in  its  relations.  Without 
this  it  could  hardly  bo  regarded  as  a  temptation. 
But  it  seems  very  obvious,  that  it  found  no  entrance 
into  the  heart ;  and  the  only  action,  which  it  did 
or  could  produce,  in  such  a  pure  spirit  as  the  Sa- 
vior's, was  that  of  decided  resistance,  resulting  in 
its  instant  rejection. 

In  connection  with  what  has  now  been  said  in 
this  part  of  the  subject,  we  proceed  to  make  one  or 
two  explanatory  remarks.  And  the  first  is,  that 
the  incipient  and  what  may  be  called,  in  the  cases 
we  are  now  considering,  the  innocent  stage  of  the 
temptation,  is,  when  the  object,  which  embodies 
the  temptation  or  is  the  medium  of  temptation,  is 
first  presented  to  us  intellectually;  that  is  to  say,  in 
our  mere  thoughts  or  perceptions;  and  is  there  per- 
ceived and  known,  not  only  as  an  object,  but  as  an 
object  of  temptation.  If  it  stops  at  the  limit  of  the 
intellectual  action,  and  does  not  enter  into  the  heart 
and  the  will,  there  is  no  sin.  It  is  obviously  ne- 
cessary in  all  cases  of  temptation,  that  the  object 
should  exist  first  in  this  manner,  viz.  intellectually ; 
in  other  words,  that  it  should  exist  in  the  thoughts, 
or  be  perceived  and  thought  of.  Without  this,  viz. 
the  perceived  or  intellective  presence  of  the  object, 
it  is  entirely  clear,  that  there  coidd  not  possibly  be 


204     ON  THE  NATURE  OF  THE  TEMPTATIONS 

any  such  thing  as  temptation.  But,  as  has  been 
observed,  the  temptation  may  exist  to  this  extent, 
and  may  be  perceived  and  felt  by  us  so  far  to  exist, 
without  sin. 

A  furtlier  remark,  which  we  have  to  make  here, 
is  this.  Temptations,  Umited  in  their  resuUs  to 
the  intellectual  action,  and  which  do  not  in  any 
degree  take  effect  in  the  desires,  could  not  properly 
be  considered  temptations,  without  the  physical  or 
natural  possibility  of  a  further  and  'sinful  action 
of  the  mind,  without  an  internal  conviction  of  that 
possibility,  and  perhaps  we  may  add,  without  a 
distinct  sense  of  danger.  Hence,  when  temptations 
of  this  particular  character  are  presented,  although 
they  do  not  take  effect  in  the  desires,  they  are  both 
perceived  and  felt  to  be  temptations ;  that  is  to  say, 
there  is  a  clear  perception  of  their  true  character, 
both  in  themselves  and  in  relation  to  certain  possi- 
ble results.  And  in  addition  to  this,  there  appears 
to  be  an  instinctive  and  prompt  alarm  of  the  sensi- 
tive and  moral  nature.  The  desires  and  affections 
are  not  inert  and  dormant,  as  some  may  perhaps 
suppose ;  neither  are  the  conscience  and  the  will ; 
but  all  seem  to  be  penetrated  with  the  sense  of  im- 
minent hazard,  and  are  thrown  into  the  conscious 
attitude  of  repellancy. 

Second. — We  pass  now  to  another  class  of  cases. 
In  some  cases  different  from  those  which  have  been 
described,  the  temptation  passes  the  limit  of  the  in- 
tellectual action,  and  actually  takes  effect  in  the 
emotions  and  desires,  and  yet  without  sin.  The 
foundation  of  this  view  of  the  subject  is,  that  there 


OF  A  SANCTIFIED  HEART.  205 

are  many  emotions  and  desires  which  in  tlieir  na- 
ture are  morally  and  religiously  right  and  lawful, 
and  are  wrong  only  in  their  degree.  The  tempta- 
tion, (that  is,  the  object  which  possesses  the  sedu- 
cing or  tempting  power,)  is  presented  intellectually, 
just  as  in  the  first  case ;  and  it  is  desired,  received 
into  the  affections,  and  delighted  in  to  a  certain 
limit  or  degree.  The  precise  place  or  mark  of  this 
limit  or  degree  will  be  different  under  different  cir- 
cumstances ;  varying  with  the  precise  nature  of  the 
seducing  or  tempting  object  and  with  the  precise 
position  and  responsibilities  of  the  person,  who  is 
the  subject  of  the  temptation.  But  wherever  it 
may  be,  it  is  susceptible  of  being  ascertained  in 
various  ways,  either  by  a  reference  to  the  com- 
mands of  God,  or  by  the  indications  of  an  enlight- 
ened conscience,  or  by  the  special  operations  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  and  not  unfrequently  by  their  com- 
bined influence.  At  that  particular  limit  or  boun- 
dary in  the  desires  and  affections,  wherever  it  may 
be  found  to  exist,  the  temptation,  in  the  case  of  a 
truly  holy  person,  and  in  the  case  of  every  person 
who  does  what  is  right,  necessarily  stops;  just  as 
in  the  first  mentioned  class  of  temptations,  it  stops 
with  the  limit  or  boundary  of  the  intellectual  ac- 
tion. And  in  this  case  also,  as  well  as  in  the  oth- 
er, there  is  a  conscious  perception  and  feeling  of 
danger,  when  the  temptation  approaches  the  boun- 
dary in  our  desires  and  affections,  which  it  ought 
not  to  pass,  accompanied  at  the  same  time  with  an 
internal  and  repellent  effort  of  the  mind. 

A  single  remark  further  remains  to  be  made,  in 
13 


206      ON  THE  NATURE  OF  THE  TEMPTATIONS 

connection  with  this  part  of  the  subject.  Looking 
at  the  subject  of  temptations  in  relation  to  the  in- 
tellect, there  seems  to  be  ground  for  saying,  that 
we  may  properly  make  a  distinction  between  inten- 
tions or  thoughts  of  evil,  and  evil  thoughts.  All 
wandering  and  unprofitable  thoughts,  and  indeed 
all  thoughts,  which  have  not  a  connection  either 
directly  or  indirectly  with  the  glory  of  God,  are 
evil,  just  so  far  as  they  are  at  the  time  under  our 
control,  and  are  susceptible  of  being  made  to  as- 
sume a  different  and  better  character.  But  thoughts 
of  evil,  that  is  to  say,  ideas  or  suggestions  of  some 
evil  to  be  done,  which  are  introduced  or  injected 
into  the  mind  from  a  source  external  to  itself,  or 
which  on  certain  occasions  arise  necessarily  and 
involuntarily  in  the  mind,  are  not  evil,  unless  they 
are  consented  to  in  act  or  in  feeling.  The  form  of 
expression  here  will  be  noticed,  viz.  so  far  as  they 
arise  necessarily  and  involuntarily.  If  they  originate 
in  ourselves  by  a  voluntary  movement,  and  are 
cherished  by  our  own  acts,  so  as  to  make  us  in 
some  sense  the  authors  of  our  own  temptations, 
they  are  obviously  of  a  very  different  character, 
and  are  by  no  means  free  from  sin. 

These  views  seem  to  present  the  general  outline 
of  the  philosophy  of  temptations ;  although  un- 
doubtedly the  subject  is  not  without  its  difficulties. 
And  all  that  now  remains  is,  to  make  a  number  of 
remarks  incidentally  connected  with  this  general 
sketch,  and  for  the  most  part  of  a  practical  nature. 

(1) — And  our  first  remark  is,  that,  in  the  pres- 
ent life,  all  persons,  not  excepting  those,  who  are 


OF  A  SANCTIFIED  HEART.  207 

most  advanced  in  holiness,  are  subject  to  tempta- 
tions. Even  the  truly  sanctified  person  is  not  ex- 
empt. Holy  persons  like  others  retain  the  attributes 
appropriate  to  man's  nature;  difTering  from  the  same 
attributes  in  others  in  this  respect  only,  that  they  are 
deprived  of  irregularities  of  action,  and  are  entirely 
subordinate  to  the  divine  will.  Accordingly  the 
holy  person,  or  the  person  in  whom  faith  and  love 
exist  in  the  highest  degree  attainable  in  the  pres- 
ent life,  hungers  and  thirsts  like  any  other  person; 
he  is  the  subject  of  the  propensities  and  affections 
which  lay  the  foundation  and  which  furnish  the 
support  of  the  various  family  relations ;  he  loves 
his  children,  parents,  and  other  relatives,  and  is 
the  subject  of  other  natural  ties  and  sympathies  ;  he 
suffers  from  fatigue  and  sickness ;  he  is  grieved, 
troubled,  and  perplexed  in  various  Avays ;  and  even 
displeasure  and  anger,  as  is  evident  from  what  was 
witnessed  in  the  life  of  our  Savior,  are  not  entire- 
ly excluded.  While,  therefore,  it  is  our  privilege, 
even  in  the  present  life,  to  be  exempt  from  the  com- 
mission of  voluntary  and  known  sin,  it  does  not 
appear,  retaining,  as  we  do,  our  constitutional  ten- 
dencies and  remaining  subject  to  constitutional  in- 
firmities, that  we  either  have,  or  can  reasonably 
expect,  any  such  exemption  from  temptation.  We 
cannot  suppose,  that  any  of  us,  in  the  present  life, 
can  be  in  a  better  situation  than  our  Savior,  who 
was  "without  sin;"  but  who,  nevertheless,  "was 
tempted  in  all  points  as  we  are." 

(2.) — A  second  practical  remark,  proper  to  be 
made  in  connection  with  this  subject,  is  this.     It  is 


208     ON  THE  NATURE  OF  THE  TEMPTATIONS 

hazardous  to  estimate  lightly,  and  to  trifle  with 
temptations.  The  person  is  greatly  wanting  in 
wisdom,  who  undertakes  to  make  a  sport  of  them, 
or  who  delays  a  moment  under  the  pressure  of 
their  influence,  when  he  can  possibly  escape. 
"  Watch  and  pray,  that  ye  enter  not  into  tempta- 
tion," is  a  command  of  Scripture.  And  the  ques- 
tion is  well  asked  in  the  book  of  Proverbs,  6  :  27, 
28,  "  Can  a  man  take  fire  in  his  bosom  and  his 
clothes  not  be  burned  7  Can  one  go  upon  hot  coals, 
and  his  feet  not  be  burned?"  The  Christian,  who 
is  desirous  of  securing  fully  the  approbation  of  his 
heavenly  Father,  must  be  careful  not  only  to  do 
the  right  and  avoid  the  wrong ;  but  also  to  avoid 
all  places  and  all  occasions,  which  would  be  likely 
for  any  reason  to  lead  him  into  wrong. 

(3.) — We  proceed  to  observe  in  the  third  place, 
that  temptations  will,  in  general,  be  violent,  in  pro- 
portion to  the  decided  resistance  which  is  made  to 
them.  And  accordingly,  although  it  is  perhaps 
different  from  what  we  should  naturally  expect, 
the  more  holy  a  man  is,  the  more  violent  at  times 
will  be  the  temptations,  which  he  is  called  to  en- 
dure. A  person,  who  yields  to  temptation  either 
in  whole  or  in  part,  which  is  very  apt  to  be  the 
case  with  those  who  are  not  wholly  devoted  to  the 
Lord,  will  not  be  likely  to  understand  its  full  pow- 
er. He  does  not  oppose  resistance  enough  to  ascer- 
tain the  strength  of  the  aggressive  movement. 
Satan  has  no  inducement  to  show  his  full  strength 
to  the  man,  who  yields  easily.  But,  he  who  is  de- 
termined to  sin  not  at  all,  who  had  rather  die  than 


OF  A  SANCTIFIED  HEART.  209 

commit  any  known  transgression,  who  opposes  the 
broad  and  upright  energy  of  his  whole  being  to  the 
assaults  of  Satan,  will  know  the  immense  power 
of  the  terrible  enemy,  that  wages  war  upon  him. 
And  it  is  the  natural  result  of  this  general  view, 
that  when  in  the  life  of  practical  holiness  we  have 
taken  some  new  and  untried  position,  which  for 
the  first  time  we  have  ascertained  to  be  a  true  and 
a  safe  one,  and  are  undertaking  the  discharge  of 
some  new  but  obvious  duty,  we  shall  be  likely,  in 
connection  with  that  new  position,  to  be  tried  and 
tempted  very  severely.  Satan  will  drive  us  from 
it  if  he  can.  He  hates  holiness,  and  every  thing 
which  is  involved  in  holiness,  and  every  thing 
which  holiness  does.  He  hates  it  in  general ;  and 
he  hates  it  in  particulars.  And  whoever  proposes, 
in  aiming  at  entire  holiness  to  do  better  in  a  partic- 
ular thing,  will  be  likely  to  find  him  in  the  attitude 
of  defiance  and  resistance  just  at  that  point. 

(4) — A  fourth  remark  is,  that  it  is  the  part  of 
Christian  duty,  to  endeavor  to  understand  the  na- 
ture of  temptations.  And  as  included  in  this,  it  is 
our  duty  to  understand  their  specific,  as  well  as 
their  general  nature ;  in  other  words,  their  nature 
in  its  application  to  ourselves  personally.  That, 
which  would  be  a  temptation  to  one,  would  not  be 
so  to  another.  The  general  idea,  expressed  by  the 
word  temptation,  embraces  not  only  the  object 
which  tempts,  but  also  the  subject  of  the  tempta- 
tion. In  particular,  therefore,  we  should  study  the 
weak  and  comparatively  defenceless  points  in  our 
character  and  situation ;  those  particulars,  in  which 
IS* 


210  ON  THE  NATURE  OF  THE  TEMPTATION'S 

wrong  influences  will  be  most  likely  to  have  an 
effect  upon  us  and  to  lead  us  astray. 

(5.) — We  remark  again,  when  we  are  doubtful  as 
to  the  character  of  the  temptation,  in  other  words, 
when  we  are  doubtful  whether  the  proposed  action 
or  feeling  is  wrong  or  not,  we  should  be  careful  to 
lay  the  subject  before  God,  and  to  wait  for  the  in- 
structions of  the  Holy  Spirit,  before  indulging  in 
the  desire  or  action,  whatever  it  may  be.  We  should 
remain  where  we  are  and  do  nothing,  rather  than 
run  the  hazard  of  doing  wrong.  The  language  of 
the  Apostle  is  applicable  in  a  case  of  this  kind. 
"Whatsoever  is  not  of  faith  [that  is,  is  not  done  in 
the  faith  or  belief  of  its  lawfulness]  is  sin." 

(6) — A  farther  remark  to  be  made  is  this.  In 
•seasons  of  temptation,  it  is  highly  important,  that 
we  should  remain  recollected,  and  in  the  exercise  of 
true  patience  of  spirit.  The  adversary  of  our  souls 
gains  great  advantages  at  such  times,  if  he  can  suc- 
ceed in  disturbing  our  peace.  And  in  order  to  help 
us  in  retaining  this  valuable  state  of  mind,  we  should 
always  remember  that  our  heavenly  Father  is  pres- 
ent in  temptations,  as  he  is  in  every  thing  else.  It 
is  true,  he  is  not  the  tempter,  but  he  permits  the  temp- 
tation ;  and  he  permits  it,  however  mysterious  it 
may  sometimes  seem,  both  for  our  good,  and  for 
his  own  glory.  And  the  temptation,  however 
threatening  it  may  appear,  and  from  whatever 
source  it  may  come,  will  not  be  allowed  to  go  far- 
ther, than  he  shall  see  to  be  connected  with  those 
great  objects.  This  consideration  should  have  great 
influence  with  us.     It  should  exclude  disquieting 


OF  A  SANCTIFIED  HEAllT.  211 

thoughts  ;  it  should  keep  us  in  perfect  submission 
and  peace,  till  the  day  of  our  visitation  be  passed. 
(7) — In  cases  of  especial  temptation,  we  are  pro- 
tected and  saved  in  an  especial  manner,  by  the  ex- 
ercise of  FAITH.  Here,  as  elsewhere,  faith  is  the 
great  secret  of  our  power  ;  so  much  so  as  apparent- 
ly to  be  the  only  method  of  quenching  the  fiery  darts 
of  the  adversary.  The  tempted  person,  if  he  is  in  the 
exercise  of  grace  adequate  to  the  occasion,  instanta- 
neously offers  up  the  prayer  of  faith.  He  exclaims, 
in  spirit  at  least,  if  not  in  language,  "Preserve  me, 
O  God,  in  this  hour  of  need."  "Spare  me  and  help 
me  in  this  time  of  trial;"  "Leave  me  not  to  fall  into 
the  hands  of  my  great  enemy."  He  not  only  de- 
sires this  assistance,  which  is  one  element  of  the 
prayer  of  faith ;  but  what  is  equally  important,  he 
believes  that  God  hears ;  and  that  in  accordance 
with  many  promises,  such  as  "his  grace  is  sufficient 
for  us,"  and  that  he  "'will  not  suffer  us  to  be  temp- 
ted beyond  what  we  are  able  to  bear,"  he  is,  in  fact, 
present  with  him,  to  aid,  protect,  and  bless.  This 
is  especially  true  of  the  person,  who  has  experi- 
enced the  eminent  grace  of  interior  sanctification. 
Having  learned  to  live  by  faith,  which  to  many  is 
a  new  and  hidden  way  of  living,  his  prayer  ascends 
to  the  throne  of  God,  with  great  rapidity ;  so  that 
it  meets  and  confronts  the  temptation,  as  soon  as  it 
is  presented  to  his  thoughts.  And  not  only  this, 
being  the  prayer  of  living  faith,  it  is  a  mighty  prayer. 
It  is  true,  it  is  exceedingly  simple  in  object  and  in 
•words;  being,  in  this  respect,  modelled  upon  the 
Lord's   prayer ;  but  it  has  power  with    God ;  it 


212    OF  THE  TEMPTATIONS  OF  A  SANCTIFIED  HEART. 

touches  the  heart  of  everlastmg  Love ;  and  if  we 
may  be  allowed  the  expression,  it  draws  down  up- 
on his  soul  the  shield  and  covering  of  a  Savior's 
blood.  It  is  in  that  fountain,  in  that  precious  blood, 
and  not  in  the  mere  deadness  and  coldness  of  his  af- 
fections, that  the  fiery  darts  of  the  adversary  are 
quenched. 

(8) — We  would  remark  again,  that  the  grace, 
which  may  meet  and  subdue  the  temptations  of  the 
present  moment,  may  not  be  appropriate  and  ade- 
quate to  the  temptations  of  any  future  time.  Every 
day  and  every  moment  bring  their  duties  and  trials, 
and  need  their  appropriate  grace.  There  must, 
tIierefore,be  constantly  repeated  acts  of  faith:  and  by 
means  of  faith  a  constant  application  of  the  atoning 
efficacy  of  the  blood  of  the  Cross ;  both  to  preserve 
against  the  power  of  existing  temptation,  and  also 
to  wash  the  mind  from  the  impurity  of  its  stains, 
when  we  have  already  yielded  to  i( . 

We  would  observe,  finally,  that  temptations  are 
profitable  trials  of  the  religious  life,  and  are  partic- 
ularly calculated  to  purify  and  strengthen  our  faith. 
They  are  grievous  for  a  time,  it  is  true;  but  they 
are  calculated  to  secure,  in  the  end,  the  peaceable 
fruits  of  righteousness.  Very  few  have  become 
strong  in  faith,  who  have  not  passed  through  great 
trials.  It  is  said  of  the  Savior  himself,  that  he 
"  learned  obedience  by  the  things  which  he 
suffered." 


I 


CHAPTER  TWENTIETH. 

"  Believe  that  ye  receive,  and  ye  shall  have." 

The  sanctification  of  the  heart  and  all  those  va- 
rious blessmgs,  which  are  involved  in  sanctifica- 
tion, depend;  not  exclusively  perhaps,  but  yet  in  a 
great  degree,  upon  two  leading  principles ;  first, 
an  entire  consecration  of  ourselves  to  God,  and, 
SECONDLY,  a  full  and  unwavering  belief  that  the 
consecration  is  accepted.  It  is  not  enough  to  ofier 
all ;  but,  in  the  same  spirit  of  reliance  on  God,  we 
must  also  believe  that  all  is  accepted.  It  is  the  belief 
that  God  is  faithful  to  his  word,  and  that,  in  ac- 
cordance with  his  word,  he  will  receive  and  does 
now  receive  all  that  unreservedly  lay  themselves 
upon  his  altar,  which  seems  especially  to  secure 
the  presence  of  a  sanctifying  efficacy.  On  the  con- 
trary, he,  who  consecrates  himself  to  God,  however 
sincere  he  may  be  in  the  act  of  consecration,  but 
who  greatly  dishonors  the  veracity  of  God  by  re- 
maining without  the  faith  of  acceptance,  deprives 
himself  of  that  mighty  power,  which  faith  alone  is 
capable  of  imparting,  and  necessarily  lies  prostrate 
and  exposed  to  all  the  dreadful  attacks  of  the  ad- 
versary. 


214         BELIEVE  THAT  YE  RECEIVE, 

It  is  in  connection  with  this  view,  as  it  seems  to 
me,  that  we  are  enabled  to  appreciate  and  correctly 
understand  certain  passages  of  Scripture,  which 
are  frequently  mentioned  in  connection  with  the 
subject  of  present  sanctification ;  such  as  the  fol- 
lowing. "  Therefore  I  say  unto  you,  what  things 
soever  yc  desire  when  ye  pray,  believe  that  ye  re- 
ceive them,  and  ye  shall  have  them,"  Mark  11  :  24. 
"  And  this  is  the  confidence  that  we  have  in  Him, 
that,  if  we  ask  any  thing  according  to  his  will,  he 
heareth  us.  And  if  we  know  [that  is,  have  full 
faith  or  confidence  in  him,]  that  he  heareth  us, 
whatsoever  we  ask,  we  know  that  we  have  the 
petitions  that  we  desired  of  him."  1  John  v  :  14. 
The  doctrine  of  these  important  passages  is  this. 
In  consecrating  ourselves  to  God,  and  in  praying 
sincerely  for  those  things  which  are  agreeable  to 
the  will  of  God,  such  as  our  sanctification,  and  those 
Christian  graces  which  are  implied  in  sanctifica- 
tion, we  may  be  certain  that  they  will  be  given  to 
us,  and  that  they  are  now  given  to  us,  if  we  have 
no  doubt  in  God's  word.  The  certainty  of  the  re- 
sult, when  the  condition  on  which  it  depends  is  ful- 
filled, viz.  a  full  belief  of  the  truth  of  the  divine  dec- 
laration, is  necessarily  involved  in  the  veracity  of 
God]  and  not,  as  is  sometimes  supposed,  in  the 
mere  fact  of  believing.  This  is  an  important  dis- 
tinction. It  is  God's  everlasting  truth,  and  noth- 
ing but  his  truth  which  is  the  real  foundation 
of  the  great  principle  involved  in  these  passa- 
ges. Nevertheless,  it  must  be  admitted,  that 
the  result  cannot  take  place  without  the  specific 


AND  YE  SHALL  HAVE.  215 

act  of  faith ;  because  the  defect  or  want  of  such 
faith  necessarily  makes  a  separation  between  God 
and  our  souls,  and  especially  because  the  promise 
of  God,  which  is  the  true  and  effective  source  of 
the  renovating  power,  is  made  only  upon  the  con- 
dition of  the  act  of  faith.  As  soon,  therefore,  as 
God,  in  aid  of  our  own  unavailing  efforts,  takes 
away  the  remains  of  unbelief  and  gives  us  perfect 
faith  in  the  promise,  which  by  implication  involves 
perfect  faith  in  all  the  divine  declarations,  he  ne- 
cessarily gives  us  the  victory.  "As  many  as  re- 
ceived him,  to  them  gave  he  power  to  become  the 
sons  of  God,  even  to  them  that  believe  on  his 
NAME."  From  that  memorable  moment,  whether 
our  emotions  are  more  or  less  strong,  and  whether 
we  have  had  special  inward  signs  and  manifesta- 
tions or  not,  we  truly  feel  the  purifying  energy. 
The  principle  of  faith,  perhaps  after  a  long  inward 
strife,  has  become  ascendant.  We  are  noAv  become 
like  little  children;  we  are  now  "careful  for  noth- 
ing; "  living  in  perfect  simplicity  of  spirit ;  receiv- 
ing our  daily  bread  without  disquieting  thoughts  of 
the  morrow;  folded  and  protected  in  the  arms  of  infi- 
nite love. 

(1) — There  are  one  or  two  inferences,  which 
flow  out  of  the  views  which  have  been  expressed. 
And  the  first  is,  that  there  is,  in  reality,  no  need, 
as  a  preparation  for  sanctification,  of  much  mental 
excitement,  of  protracted  sighing  and  lamentation, 
of  long  fastings,  and  macerations  and  mighty  strug- 
glings  of  body.  It  is  true,  that  some  of  these 
things  may  exist  to  a  certain  extent,  without  being 


210         BELIEVE  THAT  YE  RECEIVE, 

altogether  profitless.  But  what  we  mean  to  say, 
iSj  that  they  do  not  appear  to  be  absolutely  neces- 
sary; and  there  is  sometimes  danger,  especially 
when  there  is  a  disposition  to  trust  in  them, 
of  their  being  decidedly  injurious.  The  process, 
as  it  really  takes  place,  may  probably  be  all  em- 
braced in  a  single  sentence.  "Give  all,  and  take 
all."  Lay  all  upon  the  altar,  and  believe  that 
God,  in  accordance,  with  his  word,  receives  it ; 
and  always  continue  in  that  state  of  present  and 
entire  consecration,  and  of  present  and  entire  faith, 
and  all  is  done.  If  God  is  true,  it  cannot  be  other- 
wise. And  we  may  properly  add  here,  that  the 
experience  of  very  many  persons  is  found  to  coin- 
cide with  this  statement.  They  have  labored, 
prayed,  suffered,  fasted  for  a  great  length  of  time, 
without  securing  the  great  object  of  their  desires ; 
till,  at  length  wearied  with  this  apparently  fruit- 
less method  of  pursuit,  they  have  simply  left  them- 
selves in  the  hands  of  God  without  reserve;  and 
have  believed,  in  accordance  with  his  own  declara- 
tion, that  he  did  now  accept  them.  And  thus  ceas- 
ing from  their  own  unavailing  efforts,  to  which 
perhaps  they  were  secretly  but  wickedly  inclined 
to  attach  some  personal  merit,  they  have  entered, 
by  simple  faith  alone,  into  the  favor  and  the  rest  of 
God.  They  are  from  that  moment  cut  off  from 
the  fatal  system,  which  demands  a  sign  or  mani- 
festation, either  inward  or  outward,  additional  to 
the  mere  word  of  God  and  confirmatory  of  it,  and 
from  all  preconceived  and  self-originated  notions 
of  what  they  should  like  to  have  and  what  they 


AND  TE  SHALL  HAVE.  217 

should  not  like  to  have  ;  and  have  become,  as  al- 
ready remarked,  like  little  children;  willing  to  let 
their  heavenly  Father  guide  them,  without  impo- 
sing upon  him  any  conditions,  willing  to  have 
much  or  little,  to  be  wise  or  to  be  ignorant,  to  go 
or  to  stay,  to  sit  down  or  rise  np,  to  speak  or  be  si- 
lent, to  be  honored  or  dishonored,  to  be  on  the 
mount  of  joy  or  in  the  valley  of  temptation  and 
sorrow,  to  be  any  thing  or  nothing,  just  as  God  wills, 

(2.) — It  is  proper  to  remark  further,  that  the  prin- 
ciple, which  has  been  laid  down  in  its  general  form, 
is  applicable  also  in  particular  cases.  That  is  to 
say,  it  is  not  only  in  this  manner,  that  we  may  be 
led  to  experience  the  genuine  sanctification  of  the 
heart  in  the  more  general  sense  of  the  terms ;  but 
it  is  in  this  manner  also,  that  we  are  to  receive  the 
particular  graces,  appropriate  to  particular  occa- 
sions, which  are  involved  in  sanctification. 

It  is  well  understood,  I  suppose,  that  the  ex- 
ercises of  a  sanctified  heart  are  not  always  the 
same ;  but  are  appropriate  to  their  occasions.  If, 
for  instance,  I  need  especial  wisdom  and  prudence, 
appropriate  to  a  particular  tr^ang  crisis,  I  must  go 
to  God  and  ask  for  it,  just  as  I  had  done  before  in 
relation  to  the  general  object  of  sanctification ;  first, 
in  the  spirit  of  entire  consecration,  and  second,  in 
the  exercise  of  simple  faith.  And  by  faith  here,  it 
is  hardly  necessary  to  repeat,  after  what  has  been 
said,  we  mean  a  faith,  which  fully  believes  that 
God  will  do,  and  that  he  does  even  now  accomplish 
that  which  he  has  promised.  I  recollect  to  have 
heard  a  Congregational   minister  assert  on  some 

19 


218         BELIEVE  THAT  YE  RECEIVE, 

public  occasion,  that  to  pray  aright  is  to  receive. 
This  declaration  obviously  embodies  the  great  prin- 
ciple now  under  consideration.  Many  persons  go 
to  God  and  ask  earnestly  for  the  things  they  need; 
but  they  appear  to  have  no  faith  that  God  will 
hear  them,  or  that  he  does  now  hear  them,  unless 
they  have  a  sign,  a  manifestation,  a  visible  out- 
ward sight  or  an  inward  audible  voice,  or  the  defi- 
nite experience  of  some  preconceived  feeling,  or 
something,  (it  makes  but  little  difference  what  it 
is,)  which  they  expect  to  use  and  which  they  do 
use,  as  a  prop  for  their  faith  to  rest  upon,  instead 
of  letting  it  rest  upon  the  sure  and  blessed  Word 
of  God.  O,  the  unutterable  blindness  of  the  human 
mind,  when  left  to  itself!  To  look  at  any  thing 
but  the  simple  declaration  of  God,  and  to  require 
anything  but  that  as  a  ground  of  belief,  is  to  go 
directly  out  of  the  true  path.  '  It  is,  as  it  seems  to 
us,  deliberately  and  of  choici^  to  throw  away  those 
precious  gifts  which  faith  imparts.  It  is  made 
known  throughout  the  Scriptures,  deliberately,  re- 
peatedly, and  with  the  clearness  of  a  sunbeam, 
that  the  life  of  God  in  the  soul  is,  and  must  be,  a 
life  of  sibiple  faith.  And  in  the  exercise  of  this 
faith,  it  may  be  regarded  as  certain,  that,  when  we 
pray  for  those  spiritual  gifts  and  exercises  which 
we  know  to  be  agreeable  to  the  will  of  God,  we 
shall  not  only  have  them,  but  if  the  present  time 
is  really  the  appropriate  time  for  them,  we  do 
have  them  now.  We  do  not  say,  that  the  specific 
blessing  either  comes  now  or  will  come  hereafter, 
in  precise  accordance  with  our  preconceived  opin- 


AND  YE  SHALL  HAVE.  219 

ions ;  but  that  makes  no  difference  as  to  the  fact. 
And  we  may  add  here,  it  is  the  uniform  testimony 
of  those  who  have  been  enabled  to  hve  the  hfe  of 
faith,  that  they  have  always  found  God  faithful  to 
his  word  ;  they  have  had  wisdom,  and  humility, 
and  gratitude,  and  peace  of  spirit,  and  purity  of 
heart,  just  as  they  have  asked  for  it,  when  they 
have  asked  fully  believing  in  God's  promise,  and 
in  the  actual  bestowment  of  the  blessing  in  its  prop- 
er time  and  place,  according  to  the  promise. 


[The  following  is  an  extract  from  a  letter,  which  I  had  the 
pleasure  of  receiving  some  years  since  from  a  pious  young  man,  a 
member  of  the  Baptist  church,  now  no  longer  hving.  I  introduce 
it  here,  as  illustrating,  to  some  extent,  the  practical  application  of 
the  doctrines  of  this  chapter.] 

After  speaking  of  his  deliverance  from  his  former 
bondage  to  sin, the  writer  adds ;  "I  humbly  trust,that 
God  has  in  some  measure  taught  me  how  to  live, 
from  moment  to  moment,  by  simple  faith.  A  truly 
blessed  and  glorious  way.  This  is  the  highway 
of  holiness,  cast  up  for  the  ransomed  of  the  Lord 
to  walk  in.  Jesus  is  now  a  charming  name.  Jesus 
is  now  all,  and  in  all,  to  me.  I  can  now  say  'God 
forbid  that  I  should  glory  save  in  the  cross  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  the  world  is  crucified 
unto  me,  and  I  am  crucified  unto  the  world.'  I  found 
all  my  prayers,  tears,  and  earnest  desires  unavail- 
ing. I  spent  days  in  fasting  and  prayer.  At  the 
midnight  hour  and  at  early  dawn  I  prayed  for  ho- 
liness.    But  still  I  found  my  soul  destitute  of  holi- 


220         BELIEVE  THAT  YE  RECEIVE, 

ness,  the  pearl  of  great  price.  I  found  this,  howev- 
er, blessed  ;  at  time?  greatly  so.  And  the  power  of 
sin  was  in  a  great  measure  broken.  At  length  God 
was  pleased  to  show  me  that  I  must  believe,  that  I 
do  receive  the  things  that  I  ask  for.  In  a  moment  I 
saw  my  error.  I  had  long  been  convinced,  that  I 
staggered  at  faith;  that  unbelief  was  my  great  sin; 
and  accordingly  would  direct  all  my  forces  to  this 
point.  I  tried  to  believe.  I  prayed  for  faith.  I 
sought  for  faith  earnestly.  Sometimes  it  seemed 
that  Christ  was  near  me,  and  the  prize  almost  with- 
in my  reach ;  and  I  would  say  in  my  heart  and  a- 
loud,  '  Lord,  I  do  believe ;'  and  then  I  would  watch 
my  heart  to  see  what  the  effect  was.  But  at  this 
time  it  was  clearly  revealed  to  me,  that  I  was  wait- 
ing for  EVIDENCE,  the  evidence  of  sight  before  I  would 
believe;  and  that  I  was  unwilling  to  take  the  evi- 
dence God  had  afforded,  viz.  his  inviolable  word 
and  promise.  I  saw  now,  instead  of  praying  for 
faith,  seeking  for  it,  looking  for  and  expecting  it,  I 
must  believe.  It  appeared  to  me  a  reasonable  com- 
mand '  Reckon  yourselves  dead  indeed  unto  sin, 
but  alive  unto  God  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord ;' 
and  I  resolved,  that  I  would  obey  this  command ; 
for  it  was  my  imperative  duty.  I  would  believe, 
because  God  had  commanded  it.  It  seemed  a  fear- 
ful step  to  take.  It  was  an  hour  of  conflict,  but  Je- 
sus triumphed.  I  saw  that  all  other  means  had 
failed  ;  and  this  was  my  only  resource.  I  accord- 
ingly entered  into  an  engagement  with  God,  that 
henceforth,  until  faith  should  be  exchanged  for 
sight,  I  would  never  doubt ;  I  would  live  in  the  en- 


AND  YE  SHALL  HAVE.  221 

entire  surrender  of  my  uhoh  being  to  God,  believing  that 
He  accepted  Ike  sacrifice^  and  that  I  teas  icholly  the 
Lord^.  I  have  found  my  God,  a  faithful  God. 
And  my  whole  soul  exclaims,  glory,  glory  be  to 
Thee,  Oh  God,  for  this  living  way  of  salvation 
through  faith  in  Christ.  /May  a  humble,  holy  life 
praise  my  Redeemer  for  his  unspeakable  goodness 
to  me,  and  eternity  complete  and  perfect  what  time 
begins,  "j 


"Jesus,  the  life,  the  truth,  the  way, 
"In  whom  I  now  believe  ; 

"As  taught  by  Thee,  in  faith  I  pray, 
"Expecting  to  receive. 

"Forgive,  and  make  my  nature  whole. 

"My  inbred  malady  remove  ; 
"To  perfect  health  restore  my  soul, 

"To  perfect  holiness  and  love." 


19» 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-FIRST. 


On  the  Dispensation  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 


It  is  a  scriptural,  and  I  suppose,  a  generally 
aclfnowledged  fact,  that  the  world  is  now,  in  a 
special  manner,  under  the  dispensation  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  The  Father,  in  conceiving  and  adopting 
the  plan  of  man's  redemption,  may  be  said,  in  re- 
lation to  our  apprehension  of  things  in  time,  to 
have  reconciled  justice  and  mercy  prospectively. 
The  Son,  by  coming  into  the  world  in  accordance 
with  the  plan  of  redemption,  and  by  fulfilling  in  his 
death  on  the  cross  the  indispensable  conditions  of 
the  plan,  rendered  this  reconciliation  not  only  pros- 
pectively, but  presently  and  actually  possible.  The 
office  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  among  other  things,  is  to 
teach  men;  and  by  teaching,  and  other  spiritual 
operations,  to  induce  and  enable  them  to  accept  and 
to  realize  in  their  own  renovated  persons  and  na- 
tures all  the  benefits,  which  the  wisdom  of  the 
Father  has  provided,  and  which  the  voluntary  hu- 
miliation of  the  Son  has  rendered  possible.  The 
work  of  man's  salvation,  therefore,  in  its  practical 
and  personal  application,  and  so  far  as  it  remains 
uncompleted,  may  be  said  to  be  under  the  direction 


ON  THE  DISPENSATION  OF  THE  HOLY  GHOST.       223 

of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Accordingly  when  our  Savior 
left  the  world,  he  held  the  following  language  to 
his  disciples.  "Nevertheless  I  tell  you  the  truth; 
it  is  expedient  for  you  that  I  go  away ;  for  if  I  go 
not  away,  the  Comforter  will  not  come  unto  you; 
but  if  I  depart,  I  will  send  him  unto  you.  And 
when  he  is  come,  he  will  reprove  the  world  of  sin, 
and  of  righteousness,  and  of  judgment."  And  a- 
gain,  he  says,  "  I  have  yet  many  things  to  say  un- 
to you,  but  ye  cannot  bear  them  now.  Howbeit 
when  He,  the  Spirit  of  Truth,  is  come,  He  will 
guide  you  into  all  truth,  for  He  shall  not  speak  of 
himself;  but  whatsoever  He  shall  hear,  that  shall 
He  speak ;  and  He  will  show  you  things  to  come. 
He  shall  glorify  me ;  for  He  shall  receive  of  mine, 
and  shall  shew  it  unto  you."  John,  16 :  7,  8,  12, 
13,  14. 

The  Holy  Spirit,  therefore,  is  to  be  regarded  as 
the  appointed  and  effective  renovator,  guide,  com- 
forter, and  teacher  of  the  children  of  men.  In  the 
moral  and  religious  world  all  good  is  from  Him  ; 
and  beyond  the  reach  of  his  influence,  and  irre- 
spective of  his  presence  and  operations,  there  is 
not  and  cannot  be  any  thing,  which  is  valuable  or 
desirable.  There  are  some  reasons  for  saying,  that 
the  dispensation  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  precisely  op- 
posite and  antagonistica),  in  its  principles  and  re- 
sults, to  what  may  be  called  the  natural  dispensa- 
tion, viz.  the  law  of  the  natural  heart,  or  the  reign 
of  SELF  in  the  soul.  Man,  before  his  fall,  had  a 
true  life  in  God.  He  did  not  live  by  his  own  vi- 
tality, and  flourish  upon  his  own  stock.     The  pow- 


224  ON  THE  DISPENSATION 

er  of  God  possessed  its  habitation  in  the  centre  of 
his  soul ;  a  Uving,  animating,  purifying  principle. 
If  he  possessed,  as  undoubtly  he  did,  what  might 
properly  be  denominated  natural  ability,  it  was, 
nevertheless,  natural  ability,  made  alive,  inspired, 
animated  by  an  ability  out  of  and  above  nature. 
It  was  enough  for  him  to  know  and  rejoice  in  the 
fact  that  God  was  the  continuance,  as  well  as  the 
beginning  of  his  inward  life;  that  every  good  thought 
and  good  feeling,  that  all  purified  activity  and  di- 
vine strength,  all  holy  love  and  all  angelic  aspira- 
tions, were  from  God,  and  from  God  alone.  And 
his  apostacy,  as  it  seems  reasonable  to  suppose, 
consisted  in  the  alienation  and  dethronement  of 
this  inward  divine  power,  and  in  the  substitution 
of  SELF  instead  of  God.  In  the  language  of  anoth- 
er, "man  broke  off  from  his  true  centre,  his  proper 
place  in  God,  and  therefore  the  life  and  operation 
of  God  was  no  more  in  him.  He  was  fallen  from 
a  life  in  God  into  a  life  of  self,  into  an  animal  life 
of  self-love,  self-esteem,  and  self-seeking  in  the 
poor  perishing  enjoyments  of  this  world.  This 
was  the  natural  state  of  man  by  the  Fall.  He 
was  an  apostate  from  God,  and  his  natural  life  was 
all  idolatry,  where  self  was  the  great  idol,  that 
was  worshipped  instead  of  God."  ^ 

The  object,  therefore,  of  Christ's  coming  into  the 
world,  was  to  place  men  essentially  in  the  condition 
in  which  they  were  before  the  Fall.  Not  only  to 
secure  their  forgiveness,  but  to  make  them  holy ; 
not  only  to  make  them  holy,  but  to  make  them  so, 
*  Law's  Spirit  of  Prayer,  Part  I,  Chap.  2d. 


OF  THE  HOLY  GHOST.  225 

in  the  only  way  in  which  Adam  or  any  other  being 
•was  ever  made  holy,  viz.  by  means  of  the  living 
and  constant  operation  of  God  in  the  soul.  Hence 
the  necessity  of  the  dispensation  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
Hence  the  various  directions,  which  are  given  in 
the  Scriptures,  not  to  grieve,  and  not  to  quench  the 
Holy  Spirit.  Hence  the  declaration,  that  Chris- 
tians are  the  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  And  ac- 
cordingly it  is  a  great  truth,  though  but  imper- 
fectly understood  and  estimated,  that  he,  who 
moves  and  acts  in  religious  things  without  the 
attendant  operation  and  grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
cannot  be  spiritually  wise,  and  is  not  in  the  way  to 
be  spiritually  benefitted. 

(H.) — The  object  of  that  peculiar  state  of  things, 
which  may  with  some  good  reason  be  described  as 
tlie  dispensation  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  will  not  be 
completely  realized,  till  all  Christians  are  filled 
with  the  presence  and  the  operations  of  this  Divine 
Agent.  And  why  should  not  Christians  of  the 
present  day  experience  this  great  inward  result,  as 
well  as  those  of  the  primitive  ages  1  It  was  said 
of  John  the  Baptist,  even  before  his  birth,  "and  he 
shall  be  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost."  It  is  related 
both  of  his  mother  Elisabeth  and  of  his  father 
Zachariah,  that  they  were  "filled  with  the  Holy 
Ghost."  The  apostle  Peter  and  the  martyr  Stephen 
are  described  as  being  in  like  manner  "full  of  the 
Holy  Ghost."  The  disciples  on  the  day  of  Pente- 
cost are  said  to  have  been  "filled  with  the  Holy 
Ghost."  Similar  language  is  applied  to  the  Savior. 
And  Jesus,  "being  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  "return- 


226  ON  THE  DISPENSATION 

ed  from  Jordan,  and  was  led  by  the  Spirit  into  the 
wilderness.  The  Baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
which  is  repeatedly  spoken  of,  probably  means,  in 
some  places  if  not  in  all,  the  same  thing  with  be- 
ing filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost. 

In  the  times  of  the  Apostles,  miraculous  powers 
were  connected  with  the  descent  and  the  fulness  of 
the  Spirit's  operations.  The  gift  of  these  powers 
seems  to  have  had  special  reference  to  the  circum- 
stances of  the  times,  and  to  have  been  temporary. 
But  the  infinitely  greater  blessing,  the  crowning 
work  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  that  of  imparting  to  the 
soul  the  grace  of  assured  or  perfect  faith  and  the 
attendant  grace  of  perfect  love,  still  remains.  Now, 
if  the  Holy  Ghost  came  into  the  world  to  dwell 
with  men,  to  take  up  his  abode  with  them  and  to 
teach  them,  if  he  came  to  inspire  within  them  the 
highest  possible  faith  and  love,  and  to  procure  to 
them  the  highest  possible  purity  and  peace,  then  it 
seems  to  me,  that  the  object  of  the  dispensation,  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  is  not,  and  cannot  be  completely 
realized,  till  it  can  be  said  of  all  Christians,  as  it 
was  said  anciently,  that  they  are  men  full  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.  Till  this  is  done,  there  is  a  resistance 
in  the  heart,  proceeding  from  the  remaining  life  of 
self  and  from  the  inspiration  and  artifices  of  Satan, 
which  ought  not  to  be.  The  Holy  Spirit  is  ready, 
not  only  to  advance,  but  entirely  to  accomplish  the 
inward  work,  whenever  the  people  of  God  are  pre- 
pared, with  childlike  simplicity  of  spirit  and  with- 
out any  reservation,  to  undergo  his  sharply  search- 
ing and  purifying  agency.     It  is  the  spirit  of  self, 


OF  THE  HOLY  GHOST.  227 

showing  itself  in  the  forms  of  distrust  and  resis- 
tance, which  obstructs  this  faithful,  but  friendly 
operation ;  which  grieves  the  Spirit ;  and  prevents 
his  purifying  the  heart  with  the  waters  of  the  interior 
baptism. — Let  the  followers  of  Christ  ponder  well 
these  important  truths.  Let  them  strive  to  keep  in 
mind,  that  they  can  do  nothing  well,  in  the  moral 
and  religious  sense  of  the  terms,  which  is  not 
prompted  by  the  presence  and  suggestions  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  And  certainly  that  they  cannot  do 
ALL  things  well,  bringing  every  emotion  and  pas- 
sion into  subjection,  and  walking  always  in  the 
commandment  of  faith  and  love,  without  being 
'' filled, '^  as  the  Scriptures  express  it,  with  his  effi- 
cacious agency. 

(III.) — An  inquiry  may  arise  here,  In  what  man- 
ner does  the  Holy  Spirit  operate  in  individual 
hearts  7  In  relation  to  the  subject  involved  in  this 
inquiry,  it  does  not  appear,  that  any  specific  and 
certain  rule  can  be  laid  down.  The  methods  of 
the  divine  operation  appear  to  be  one  of  the  secret 
tilings,  which  are  hidden  with  God.  Accordingly 
the  Holy  Spirit,  so  far  as  the  method  or  manner  of 
his  influences  is  concerned,  operates  differently  in 
different  cases.  ''  The  wind  bloweth  where  it  list- 
eth,  and  thou  hearest  the  sound  thereof,  but  canst 
not  tell,  whence  it  cometh,  and  whither  it  goeth. 
So  is  every  one  that  is  born  of  the  Spirit."  He 
sometimes  comes  with  sudden  and  almost  visible 
efficacy,  and  produces  his  results  with  "  observa- 
tion." But  still  more  frequently,  as  it  seems  to  us, 
he  comes  as  a  "  still  small  voice,"  and  operates  in  a 


228  ON  THE  DISPENSATION 

secret  and  silent  manner  ;  but  with  no  diminution 
of  effective  power  and  of  inward  purification. 

"If  the  Lord  be  pleased,"  says  Mr.  Fletcher  "to 
come  softly  to  thy  help  ;  if  he  make  an  end  of  thy 
corruption  by  helping  thee  gently  to  sink  to  un- 
known depths  of  meekness ;  if  he  drown  the  in- 
dwelling man  of  sin,  by  baptising,  by  plunging  him 
into  an  abyss  of  humility  ;  do  not  find  fault  with 
the  simplicity  of  his  method,  the  plainness  of  his 
appearing,  and  the  commonness  of  his  prescription. 
Nature,  like  Naaman,  is  full  of  prejudices.  She  ex- 
pects that  Christ  will  come  to  make  her  clean  with 
as  much  ado,  pomp,  and  bustle,  as  the  Syrian  gen- 
eral looked  for  '  when  he  was  wroth  and  said.  Be- 
hold, I  thought  he  will  surely  come  out  to  me 

and  stand and  call  on  his  God and  strike 

his  hand  over  the  place and  recover  the  leper.' 

Christ  frequently  goes  a  much  plainer  way  to  work ; 
and  by  this  means  he  disconcerts  all  our  precon- 
ceived notions  and  schemes  of  deliverance.  '  Learn 
of  me  to  be  meek  and  lowly  in  heart,  and  thou  shalt 
find  rest  to  thy  soul,'  the  sweet  rest  of  Christian 
perfection,  of  perfect  humility,  resignation,  and 
meekness.  Lie  at  my  feet,  as  she  did  who  loved 
much,  and  was  meekly  taken  up  with  '  the  good 
part,  and  the  one  thing  needful.'  But  thou  fret- 
test  ;  thou  despisest  this  robe  of  perfection" ;  it  is  too 
plain  for  thee ;  thou  slightest  'the  ornament  of  a 
meek  and  quiet  spirit,  which,  in  the  sight  of  God, 
is  of  great  price  :'  nothing  will  serve  thy  turn  but  a 
tawdry  coat  of  many  colors,  which  may  please  thy 
proud  self  will,  and  draw  the  attention  of  others, 


OF  THE  HOLY  GHOST.  229 

by  its  glorious  and  flaming  appearance ;  and  it 
must  be  brought  to  thee  with  hghtnings  and  thun- 
derings  and  voices.  If  this  be  thy  disposition,  won- 
der not  at  the  divine  wisdom  which  thinks  fit  to 
disappoint  thy  lofty  prejudices  ;  and  let  me  address 
thee  as  Naaman's  servants  addreissed  him  :  '  My 
brother,  if  the  prophet  had  bid  thee  do  some  great 
thing,  wouldst  thou  not  have  done  it  ?  How  much 
rather  then,  when  he  says  to  thee,  lam  the  meek  and 
lowly  Lamb  of  God ;  wash  in  the  stream  of  my  blood  ; 
plunge  in  the  Jordan  of  my  humility,  and  be  clean.^ 
Instead  therefore  of  going  away  from  a  plain  Jesus 
in  a  rage,  welcome  him  in  his  lowest  appearance, 
and  be  persuaded  that  he  can  as  easily  make  an  end 
of  thy  sin,  by  gently  coming  in  '  a  still  small  voice,' 
as  by  rushing  in  upon  thee  in  ^a  storm,  a  fire,  or 
an  earthquake.' "  ^ 

(IV.) — At  this  place  in  our  remarks,  another  in- 
quiry naturally  arises,  How  shall  a  person  know, 
since  the  modes  of  the  Spirit's  interior  action  are  so 
various,  when  he  experiences  the  full  or  completed 
presence  and  operations  of  this  Divine  Agent '?  A 
proper  answer,  so  far  as  it  goes,  would  perhaps  be, 
that  this  can  be  known  only  by  the  results  of  such 
divine  presence  and  agency.  These  results,  in 
their  entire  length  and  breadth,  we  will  not  attempt 
to  analyze  at  the  present  time.  But  will  only  go 
60  far  now  as  to  say,  that  one  of  the  most  decisive 
marks  of  the  presence  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  its  full- 
ness, is  a  resigned  and  peaceful  state  of  the  spirit 
originating  in  perfect  faith  in  God.  In  the  precise 
*  Fletcher's  Works,  Vol.  II,  p.  650. 


230  ON  THE  DISPENSATION 

State  of  mind  to  which  we  now  have  reference,  there 
seems  to  be  an  entire  subsidence  or  withdrawal  of 
that  natural  excitability  which  is  so  troublesome  to 
the  christian ;  and  instead  of  the  eager  and  unset- 
tled activity  of  nature,  the  substitution  of  a  pure  and 
deeply  interior  rest  of  the  soul,  such  as  was  seen  in 
our  Savior,  and  resembling,  on  the  small  scale  of 
man's  limited  spirituality,  the  sublime  and  passion- 
less tranquillity  of  God. 

Undoubtedly  there  are  other  important  marks, 
characteristic  of  the  inward  fullness  of  the  divine 
power.  But  this,  if  it  he  rightly  understood,  may  be 
regarded  as  the  highest  result  of  the  divine  opera- 
tion upon  the  human  mind.  It  is  'not,  therefore, 
merely  the  christian,  whose  mental  exercises  are 
characterized  by  traits,  that  are  calculated  to  excite 
outward  observation,  that  is  filled  with  the  Holy 
Ghost,  to  the  exclusion  of  others./^till  more  fi-e- 
quently  is  this  fullness  experienced  in  the  hearts  of 
those,  who  sit  in  solitary  places,  unknown  to  the 
world  ;  who  live  in  the  secrecy  of  their  spirits  with 
God  alone ;  and  of  whom  the  multitude  around  them, 
ignorant  of  the  interior  power  which  dwells  in  their 
souls,  know  only  this,  that  they  perform  the  reli- 
gious and  temporal  duties  of  life  with  fidelity  and 
gratitude,  and  endure  its  trials  and  sorrows  with 
silence  and  submission.  )  We  would  not  have  it  un- 
derstood, however,  as  these  remarks  might  seem  to 
imply,  that  persons  in  this  calmly  peaceful  and  trir 
umphant  state  of  mind,  are  destitute  of  feeling. 
Far  from  it.  They  have  feeling;  but  it  is  regula- 
ted feQl'mg.     Perfect  in  degree;  but  symmetrical  in 


»     *  OF  THE  HOLY  GHOST.  231 

all  its  relations ;  and  therefore  resulting  in  that  an- 
gelic aspect  of  religious  experience,  which  has  been 
indicated.  And  the  explanation  is  this.  Every 
emotion  is  so  perfectly  adapted  to  its  appropriate  ob- 
ject ;  every  desire  and  affection  is  kept  so  perfectly 
in  its  position ;  every  volition  moves  so  surely  and 
strongly  towards  the  goal  of  perfect  rectitude;  all 
worldly  tendencies  and  attachments,  all  hopes  and 
fears,  all  joys  and  sorrows  are  so  completely  merged 
in  the  overruling  principle  of  supreme  love  to  God, 
a  principle  which  makes  all  of  God  and  nothing  of 
the  creature,  that  the  result  is,  and  of  necessity  must 
be,  inward  quietude ; 

"The  peaceful  calm  within  the  breast, 
"The  dearest  pledge  of  glorious  rest. 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-SECOND. 


The  Providences  of  God  considered  as   Interpreters 
of  the  inward  Operations  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

We  propose  in  the  present  chapter,  to  enter  upon 
a  subject  which  may  justly  be  regarded  as  one 
of  especial  importance  and  interest.  The  proposi- 
tion, which  we  lay  down  and  which  we  design  to 
illustrate,  is  the  following,  viz;  We  cannot,  as  a  gen- 
eral thing,  arrive  at  the  true  interpretation  and  import 
of  the  inward  suggestions  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  except  by 
connecting  them  with,  and  considering  them  in  their  re- 
lation to  God^s  outward  providences. 

Our  first  inquiry  is,  what  are  we  to  understand 
by  the  providences  of  God?  In  answering  this 
question,  it  does  not  seem  to  be  necessary  for  any 
purposes  we  have  at  present  in  view,  to  go  into  the 
distinction,  which  is  frequently  and  very  properly 
made,  of  the  ordinary  or  common  providence  of 
God,  viz;  that  which  is  exercised  in  connection 
with  secondary  causes  and  in  the  common  course 
of  things ;  and  of  the  extraordinary  providence  of 
God,  or  that  which  is  altogether  out  of  the  common 
way  and  has  the  nature  of  a  miraculous  operation. 
Saying  nothing  of  extraordinary  providences,  we 
apprehend,  that  there  is  no  ordinary  or  common 


THE  PROVIDENCES  OF  GOD.  233 

providence  of  God  of  such  a  nature,  as  to  exclude 
him  from  an  actual  presence  and  supervision  in  re- 
lation to  all  things  whatever.  It  is  enough  for  us 
to  know  that  the  hand  of  God  is  either  positively 
or  permissively  in  every  thing.  In  our  apprehen- 
sion, therefore,  all  events,  (excepting  such  as  in- 
volve the  commission  of  sin,  and  even  these  are  to 
be  regarded  as  permissively  providential,)  are  to 
be  considered  as  providential  in  the  positive  sense 
of  the  term.  In  other  words,  whatever  takes  place, 
sin  only  excepted,  is  to  be  regarded  as  expressive, 
in  some  important  and  positive  sense,  of  the  will  of 
the  Lord.  The  controlling  presence  of  the  Al- 
mighty is  there.  God  is  in  it.  Certainly  there  is 
abundant  foundation  for  this  view.  If  God  clothes 
the  grass  of  the  field,  if  not  a  sparrow  falls  to  the 
ground  without  his  notice,  if  the  very  hairs  of  our 
heads  are  numbered,  how  can  it  be  otherwise?  It 
seems  to  us,  therefore,  that  every  true  Christian 
ought  to  see,  and  will  see,  God  providentially  and 
positively  present,  with  the  exception  which  has 
just  been  made,  in  the  events  of  every  passing 
moment. 

We  remark,  in  the  second  place,  that  the  pres- 
ence and  agency  of  God  in  his  providences,  is  not 
an  accidental  thing;  but  is  a  result,  which  has 
reference  to  the  divine  wisdom  and  choice.  What- 
ever takes  place,  with  the  exception  of  sin,  is  not 
only  a  portion  in  the  great  series  of  events ;  but 
takes  place  in  accordance  with  the  well  considered 
and  divinely  ordered  arrangement  or  plan  of  things. 
Accordingly  every  thing,  which  takes  place,  indi- 
20* 


234       THE  PROVIDENCES  OF  GOD  AS  INTERPRETERS 

cates,  all  things  considered,  the  mind  of  God  in  that 
particular  thing.  And  hence  we  may  be  said  to 
reach,  througli  the  divine  providences,  a  portion  of 
the  divine  mind  ;  and  to  become  acquainted  with 
it.  We  do  not  mean  to  say,  that  we  possess,  in  re- 
spect to  that  particular  thing,  the  whole  of  the  di- 
vine wisdom  ;  but  we  undoubtedly  possess  a  por- 
tion of  it,  which  is  unspeakably  valuable.  To 
some  extent  certainly,  it  can  always  be  said  that 
God  reveals  himself.  That  is  to  say,  he  reveals 
his  mind  and  \yill. 

We  proceed  to  remark  again,  and  in  connection 
with  what  has  been  said,  that  the  providences  of 
God  are,  to  a  considerable  extent,  the  interpreters  of 
the  mind  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  mind  of  God,  as 
it  is  disclosed  in  his  providences,  and  the  mind  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  as  it  reveals  itself  in  the  soul  are 
one  ;  and  consequently  in  their  different  develope- 
ments  from  time  to  time  can  never  be  at  variance, 
but  will  always  be  in  harmony  with  each  other. 
And  not  only  this,  they  have  a  relation  to  each 
other,  which  is  mutually  and  positively  illimiina- 
tive.  They  throw  light,  the  one  upon  the  other. 
Certain  it  is  that  the  mind  of  the  Spirit,  in  all  cases 
of  mere  practical  action  and  duty,  cannot,  as  a  gen- 
eral thing,  be  clearly  and  definitely  ascertained,  ex- 
cept in  connection  with  ])rovidential  dispensations. 
Such  dispensations  are  the  outward  light,  which 
corresponds  to,  and  throws  a  reflex  illumination 
upon  the  inward  light.  And  this  is  so  general  a 
law  of  the  divine  operation,  that  persons,  who  are 
truly  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  are  generally  and 


OF  THE  OPERATIONS  OF  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT.  235 

perhaps  always  found  to  keep  an  open  eye  upon 
the  divine  providences,  as  important  and  true  in- 
terpreters of  the  inward  spiritual  leadings.  And 
accordingly  we  find  the  following  expressions  in 
the  Life  of  Madame  Guyon.  "My  soul  could  not 
incline  itself  on  the  one  side  or  the  other,  since 
that  another  will  had  taken  the  place  of  its  own  ; 
but  only  nourished  itself  wilh  the  daily  providences 
of  God.''''  And  again,  "the  order  of  divine  provi- 
dence makes  the  whole  rule  and  conduct  of  a  soul 
entirely  devoted  to  God.  AVhile  it  faithfully  gives 
itself  up  thereto,  it  will  do  all  things  right  and  well, 
and  will  have  every  thing  it  wants,  without  its 
own  care ;  because  God,  in  whom  it  confides,  makes 
it  every  moment  do  what  he  requires.  God  loves 
what  is  of  his  own  order.  "=^ 

Hardly  any  thing,  in  the  conduct  of  the  divine 
life  in  the  soul,  is  more  important  than  thus  to 
keep  an  open  and  faithful  eye  upon  the  arrange- 
ments of  divine  providence.  Until  the  divine  in- 
timations within  are  cleared  up  and  illustrated  by 
the  subsequent  openings  of  Providence,  it  seems  to 
me  to  be  the  duty  of  Christians  to  remain  in  the  at- 
titude of  patient  expectation,  and  of  humble  and 
quiet  faith.  It  is  true,  we  may  already  be  possess- 
ed of  the  inward  voice,  the  declarations  of  the 
Spirit  in  the  soul.  But  these  inward  intimations, 
taken  by  themselves,  may,  in  many  cases,  be  very  ob- 
scure. And  so  long  as  we  do  not  satisfactorily 
know  the  information  involved  in  them  and  the  is- 
sues to  which  they  lead  ;  it  is  obviously  a  duty  to 
keep  looking  upward,  in  a  childlike  simplicity  and 
*  Life  of  3Iadame  Guyon,  Ft.  I,  Ch.  27  ;  Pt.  II,  Ch.  2. 


236      THE  PROVIDENCES  OF  GOD  AS  INTERPRETERS 

faith,  for  those  further  developments,  which  the 
openings  of  Divine  Providence  may  impart. 

I  have  sometimes  thought,  tliat  there  is  a  simiU- 
tude  or  analogy  between  the  natural  mind  and  the 
spiritual  mind,  in  relation  to  the  subject  now  un- 
der consideration.  The  natural  mind,  (that  is  to 
say,  the  perceptive  and  reflective  ability,  which  is 
naturally  given  us,)  is  adapted  in  its  operations 
and  results  to  the  natural  world  around  us.  The 
ability,  which  we  possess  of  realizing  in  ourselves 
the  various  auditory,  visual,  and  tactual  sensations 
and  perceptions  would  be  of  no  avail,  would  be 
practically  useless,  without  the  corresponding 
sounds,  colors,  and  forms  of  the  external  world. 
The  mind,  therefore,  in  some  of  its  important  oper- 
ations, and  the  external  world,  are  precisely  and  ad- 
mirably fitted  to  go  together.  They  are  practically 
the  mutual  correspondencies  and  counterparts  of 
each  other.  And  it  seems  to  be  essentially  the 
same  with  the  spiritual  mind ,  that  is  to  say,  with 
tlie  mind  enlightened  and  guided  by  the  influences 
of  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  mind  is  divinely  inspired, 
in  the  first  instance,  with  thoughts  and  views, 
which  may  be  considered  as  conditionally  instruc- 
tive and  binding  upon  ns  ;  but  which  can  be  drawn 
out  of  this  state  of  conditionality,  and  be  made  pos- 
itively clear  and  biudiug,  only  in  connection  with 
those  various  outward  events,  which  the  divine 
providence  is  continually  developing.  As  instru- 
ments of  music  will  not  give  utterance  to  their  beau- 
tiful sounds,  till  they  are  touched  and  swept  by  an 
outward  hand,  so  the  inward  inspiration  of  the  Ho- 


OF  THE  OPERATIONS  OF  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT.  237 

ly  Ghost  is,  to  some  extent,  latent  in  the  mind,  and 
is  not  susceptible  of  being  distinctly  analyzed  and 
heard  in  its  responses  to  the  spiritual  ear,  until  it 
receives  its  interpretation  from  the  outward  appli- 
cation of  providential  events.  In  other  words,  as 
the  natural  mind  and  the  natural  or  outward  world 
are  mutually  and  reciprocally  adapted,  so  also  the 
spiritual  mind  and  the  providential  world  are  mu- 
tually correspondencies  and  counterparts  of  each 
other. 

Accordingly,  although  a  person  may  be  fully  con- 
scious of  the  presence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  operating 
upon  and  guiding  his  mind ;  still  it  remains  a  great 
truth,  that  it  is  a  guidance,  which,  in  some  import- 
tant  sense,  may  be  regarded  as  dependent  on  those 
prospective  developments,  which  still  remain  in 
God's  mysterious  keeping.  Hence  as  the  interpre- 
tation of  the  inward  suggestions  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
exists,  in  so  great  a  degree,  in  the  correspondent  facts 
and  aspects  of  outward  providences,  it  becomes  eve- 
ry one,  as  has  already  been  intimated,  and  especially 
every  one,  who  is  seeking  to  live  a  truly  devoted 
and  holy  life,  to  keep  an  eye  humbly  but  conscien- 
tiously watchful,  upon  all  providential  events  !  As 
in  the  expressions  which  have  already  been  quoted, 
he  should  "  nourish  himself  with  the  daily  provi- 
dences of  God." 

In  connection  with  the  doctrine,  which  has  been 
laid  down,  a  few  incidental  remarks  remain.  And 
the  first  is,  that  this  doctrine  strikes  at  the  root  of 
too  great  eagerness  of  spirit  and  of  all  inordinate 
self-activity.    He,  who  would  walk  with  God,  must 


238       THE  PROVIDENCES  OF  GOD  AS  INTERPRETERS 

walk  in  God's  order.  God  not  only  requires  ns  to 
obey  and  serve  him ;  but  to  obey  and  serve  him  in 
his  own  time  and  way.  In  the  eye  of  God  volun- 
tary disobedience  in  the  manner  of  the  thing,  is  the 
same  as  disobedience  in  the  thing  itself  If,  there- 
fore, in  order  to  walk  with  God,  we  must  walk  ia 
God's  order  and  must  operate  with  him  in  his  own 
time  and  way,  it  will  be  necessary  for  us  to  subdue 
our  natural  eagerness  and  impetuosity  of  spirit. 

Again,  this  doctrine  is  totally  opposed  to  the  in- 
dulgence of  an  inactive  and  sluggish  spirit.  He, 
who  is  seriously  disposed  to  meet  every  movement 
of  God's  providence  in  the  fulfilment  of  every  known 
duty,  will  find  no  time,  to  be  idly  and  uselessly 
thrown  away.  Every  moment,  as  it  comes,  brings 
with  it  its  appropriate  instructions,  and  calls  for  its 
appropriate  duties.  It  does  not  always  call  for  out- 
tcard  action ;  but  it  calls  for  something  to  be  done. 
It  does  not  always,  nor  does  it  ever,  call  for  a  fever- 
ish and  unreflecting  excitement ;  but,  on  the  othei 
hand,  it  never  approves  a  listless  and  unprofitable 
inactivity.  Nevertheless  every  moment  brings  its 
duty,  although  not  always  to  be  fulfilled  in  the 
same  manner.  That  duty  may  be  outward  action ; 
or  it  may  be  inward  retirement  and  conversation 
with  God.  It  may  relate  to  the  improvement  of 
others ;  or  it  may  have  relation  to  the  instruction 
and  improvement  of  ourselves.  It  may  call  us  to 
open  and  aggressive  assaults  upon  the  strong  holds 
of  sin ;  or  to  the  secrecy  of  the  closet  and  the  sa^ 
credniess  of  private  supplication. 

Finally,  in  view  of  what  has  been  said,  we  may 


OF  THE  OPERATIONS  OP  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT.         239 

lay  it  down  as  a  great  principle  in  the  practical 
doctrines  of  holiness,  that  a  soul,  wholly  devoted  to 
God,  will  always  endeavor  to  move  calmly,  yet 
firmly  and  exactly,  in  the  blessed  order  of  the  di- 
vine providences.  Neither  prematurely  and  ex- 
citedly hastening  in  advance,  nor  yet  sluggishly 
ajnd  carelessly  lagging  behind. 

And  this  truth,  be  it  ever  remembered,  is  one 
of  the  leading  elementary  conceptions,  embra- 
ced in  the  great  and  glorious  idea  of  walking  with 
God.  It  is  noticed  by  writers  on  philosophical  sub- 
jects, that  some  sorts  of  motion  are  pleasant  and 
beautiful  to  the  beholder,  while  others  are  not  so. 
And  they  assert  further,  that  objects  in  motion  are 
tlius  beautiful, (for  instance,  a  winding  stream  or 
0,  ship  under  gentle  sail,)  partly  at  least,  because 
tliey  are  in  harmony  with  the  laws  of  our  own  men- 
tal movement.  But  where  the  outward  motion, 
which  we  are  contemplating  is  accelerated  beyond 
a  certain  degree  of  rapidity,  so  as  to  be  oat  of  cor- 
respondence with  the  natural  mox^ementof  our  own 
minds,  it  at  once  ceases  to  be  pleasant  and  beautiful 
and  becomes  painful.  And  so,  on  the  other  hand, 
when  the  motion  becomes  unusually  sluggish  and 
tardy  so  as  to  fall  in  the  rear  of  the  movement  of 
our  own  minds  and  retard  it,  it  then  also  loses 
its  character  of  beauty.  And  it  is  somewhat  sim- 
ilar in  relation  to  the  providences  of  God.  When 
the  inward  operation  of  the  holy  soul  keeps  in  ex- 
act correspondence  with  the  progress  of  God's  prov- 
idences, moving  in  time  and  place  just  where  he 
moves,  then  all  is  orderly  and  divinely  beautiful. 


240  SUGGESTIONS  TO  AID  IN  SECURING 

But  when,  through  unfaithfulness  to  God's  grace, 
we  are  jostled  out  of  the  divine  order,  either  by  go- 
ing in  advance  through  precipitancy,  or  falling  in 
the  rear  through  worldly  sloth,  we  are  no  longer 
conscious  of  this  divine  harmony  and  beauty.  Un- 
der such  circumstances  we  necessarily  lose,  in  a 
considerable  degree,  the  sense  of  God's  presence 
and  favor;  and  wandering  in  our  own  position  and 
out  of  the  divine  position,  we  experience  but  little 
else  than  darkness  and  sorrow. 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-THIRD. 

Suggestions  to  aid  in  securing  the  guidance  of  the 
Holy  Spirit. 

One  of  the  most  important  questions,  which  can 
occupy  the  minds  of  those,  who  wish  to  experience 
tlie  reality  of  the  interior  spiritual  life,  is :  In  what 
manner  can  we  most  certainly  secure  the  ever 
present  and  guiding  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit? 
We  learn  from  the  Scriptures,  that  those,  who  are 
the  sons  of  God,  are  led  by  the  spirit  of  God.  And 
a  wo  is  expressly  denounced  against  those  "foolish 
prophets,  that  follow  their  own  spirit."  *  The  facts 
of  individual  experience,  in  relation  to  the  subject 

*  Ezek.  13  :  3. 


THE  GUIDANCE  OF  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT.  211 

of  a  divine  guidance,  abundantly  confirm  the 
truth  of  the  scriptural  declarations.  "Tliough  this 
secret  direction  of  the  A.lmighty,"  says  Sir  Matthew 
Hale,  who  was  distinguished  as  a  christian  as  well 
as  a  scholar  and  a  judge,  "is  principally  seen  in 
matters  relating  to  the  good  of  the  soul,  yet  even  in 
the  concerns  of  this  life,  a  good  man,  fearing  God, 
and  begging  his  direction,  will  very  often,  if  not  at 
all  times,  find  it.  I  can  call  my  own  experience  to 
tcitness,  that  even  in  the  temporal  aifairs  of  my 
whole  life,  I  have  never  been  disappointed  of  the 
best  direction  when  I  have,  in  humility  and  sincer- 
ity, implored  it."  And  I  think  we  may  undoubt- 
edly regard  it  as  a  great  truth,  ever  to  be  kept  in 
remembrance,  that  the  true  children  of  God,  so 
far  as  they  live  acceptably  to  him,  are  guided  by 
the  Spirit  of  God.  This  great  truth,  that,  as  fol- 
lowers of  God,  it  is  our  privilege  and  duty  to  be 
led  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  may  be  realized  contin- 
ually in  our  personal  experience,  as  it  seems  to  us, 
in  connection  with  a  few  simple  but  fundamental 
conditions. 

First. — In  the  first  place,  we  cannot  reasonably 
expect  to  be  guided  by  the  Spirit,  unless  we  desire 
it.  And  if  we  expect  a  continuance  of  this  guid- 
ance, the  desire  must  be  permanent  and  strong.  It 
would  be  extremely  absurd  to  suppose  that  the 
Holy  Spirit  will  condescend  to  dwell  with  us,  if  we 
have  no  desire  for  it ;  or  if  we  have  not  a  perma- 
nent and  strong  desire.  But  we  cannot  suppose 
that  those,    who   aim   after   holiness  of  heart,    are 


242  SUGGESTIONS  TO  AID  IN  SECURING 

without  this  desire.     And  therefore  we  do  not  con- 
sider it  necessary  to  dwell  upon  this  point. 

Second. — In  order  to  realize  this  great  blessing, 
we  must  have  faith  in  God,  that  he  will  do  for  us 
the  thing  which  we  ask.  To  desire  of  God  with- 
out having  faith  in  the  giver,  is  nearly  as  eftec- 
tual  a  way  to  defeat  the  object  of  our  request,  as 
to  be  without  desire.  But  on  this  point,  also,  we 
will  not  delay.  Who  can  be  ignorant  that  one  of 
the  first  elements  in  the  life  of  holiness  is  the  doc- 
trine of  faith  ?  "Without  faith  it  is  impossible  to 
please  God."  How  can  it  be  possible,  then,  without 
faith  to  receive  the  blessing  of  the  Holy  Spirit  ? 

TniRD.-Besides  those  which  have  been  mentioned, 
there  is  another  condition  necessary  to  be  realized, 
in  order  to  have  the  guiding  influences  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  always  with  us.  Namely,  we  must  cease 
from  our  natural  activity.  We  do  not  mean  to  say 
that  we  must  be  inactive ;  that  we  must  be  wholly 
and  absolutely  without  mental  movement;  but  mere- 
ly and  precisely  that  we  must  cease  from  the  ac- 
tivity of  nature.  In  other  words,  ceasing  from  self 
and  from  its  turbulent  and  deceitful  elements,  and 
as  a  consequence  of  this,  ceasing  to  place  our- 
selves and  our  personal  interests  foremost,  we  must 
keep  our  own  plans,  purposes,  and  aims  in  entire 
subjection.  For  instance,  when  we  ask  God  to 
guide  us,  We  must  not  at  the  same  time  cherish 
in  our  hearts  a  secret  determination  and  hope  to 
guide  ourselves;  just  as  some  persons  foolishly  and 
almost  wickedly  ask  the  advice  of  their  neighbors, 
when  they  have  already  fully  decided  in  their  own 


THE  GUIDANCE  OF  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT.  243 

minds  upon  their  future  course  of  action.  If  we 
would  have  our  desire  of  being  continually  guided 
by  the  Holy  Spirit  fully  realized,  we  must  not  only 
give  up  our  personal  and  self-interested  plans  and 
purposes,  submitting  every  thing  into  God's  hands 
with  entire  childlike  simplicity,  but  it  is  important 
also  not  to  give  way  to  uneasy,  agitated,  and  ex- 
cited feelings.  The  existence  of  undue  eagerness 
and  excitement  of  spirit,  is  an  evidence  that  we 
arc,  in  some  degree,  afraid  to  trust  God ;  and  that 
we  are  still  too  much  under  the  influence  of  the 
life  of  nature.  So  that  to  cease  from  the  activity 
of  nature,  when  properly  understood,  seems  to  be 
nothing  more  nor  less,  than  to  cease  from  the  spirit 
of  self  wisdom,  self  seeking,  and  self  guidance,  and 
thus  to  remain  in  submissive  and  peaceful  simplic- 
ity and  disengagement  of  spirit,  in  order  that  God 
may  enter  in,  and  may  guide  us  by  the  wisdom  of 
his  own  divine  inspiration. 

It  may  be  proper  (o  add  here,  that  the  view,  which 
has  now  been  expressed,  is  entirely  consistent  with 
the  exercise  of  our  powers  of  perception  and  reflec-* 
tion.  A  cessation  from  our  natural  activity,  in  the 
sense  which  has  been  explained,  is  not  only  consis- 
tent with,  but  it  is  evidently  favorable  to  a  just  ex- 
ercise of  these  powers.  They  will  be  found  at  such 
times  to  be  free  from  erroneous  and  disturbing  in- 
fluences, and  to  possess  a  clearer  insight  into  the 
truth. 

Fourth. — In  order  to  secure  the  continual  pres- 
ence of  the  Holy  Spirit,  we  must  not  only  fulfil  the 
condition  of  ceasing  from  the  self-interested  activi- 


244  SUGGESTIONS  TO  AID  IN  SECURING 

ty  of  nature;  we  must  not  only  believe  in  God's 
truth  and  faithfulness  to  his  promises,  attended  with 
a  sincere  desire  for  the  blessing  under  consideration  ; 
but  when  we  ask  under  such  cirumstances,  it  is  our 
privilege  and  duty  to  believe,  that  we  now  have 
the  thing,  which  we  ask  for.  If,  for  instance,  in 
true  detachment  and  simplicity  of  spirit,  and  with 
a  sincere  desire  for  the  object,  we  seek  the  divine  wis- 
dom, which  is  a  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  guide  us 
m  some  difficult  case  of  duty,  we  are  bound,  on  the 
principles  of  Scripture,  to  believe,  (provided  fur- 
ther that  we  exercise  all  our  powers  of  perception 
and  reasoning  applicable  to  the  case,)  that  we  do 
now  have  all  that  wisdom,  which  God  sees  to  be 
necessary  for  us.  Accordingly  we  are  not  at  lib- 
erty, in  the  spirit  of  distrust  towards  God,  to  go  a- 
bout  to  seek  some  new  natural  light  to  see  our 
spiritual  wisdom  with.  Such  wisdom,  resting  in 
its  origin  upon  the  immutable  promise  of  God,  a 
promise  which  is  fulfilled  in  connection  with  the 
exercise  of  faith,  is,  for  the  most  part,  hidden  from 
.  all  forms  of  sight  on  the  part  of  the  creature,  except 
one.  That  is  to  say ;  as  it  has  its  origin  in  con- 
nection with  the  operations  of  faith,  and  cannot  ex- 
ist, except  in  that  connection,  so  it  is  visible,  in  gen- 
eral, only  to  the  eye  of  faith.  It  seems  very  evident 
under  the  circumstances  and  in  the  fulfilment  of 
the  conditions  which  have  been  mentioned,  that  we 
should  do  wrong,  we  should  sin  against  God,  not 
to  believe  in  the  actual  possession  of  the  thing  which 
had  been  interceded  for.  It  would  evidently  be  a 
case  of  UNBELIEF ;  and  unbelief  can  never  be  ac- 


THE  GUIDANCE  OF  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT.  245 

counted  otherwise  than  a  great  sin.  It  is  in  accor- 
dance with  this  view,  that  we  find  the  following  ex- 
pressions in  the  first  Epistle  of  John,  5  :  14,  15.  ^'Jlnd 
this  is  the  confidence  that  we  have  in  him^  that,  if  we  ask 
anything  according  to  his  will,  he  hearelh  us  ;  ^nd  if 
we  knoiv  that  he  hear  us,  whatsoever  we  ask,  we  know  that 
we  have  the  petitions  that  we  desired  of  him.^^ 

In  conclusion  we  would  remark,  that  in  yielding 
ourselves  up  to  the  divine  direction  under  such  cir- 
cumstances as  have  been  mentioned,  we  not  only 
have  the  guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit ;  but  I  think 
we  arc  not  exposed  to  those  illusions  and  mistakes, 
which  might  otherwise  be  likely  to  befal  us.  In- 
deed, it  is  hardly  too  much  to  say,  that  we  may  be 
sure  of  being  kept  in  the  right  path  at  such  times. 
The  state  of  mind  which  we  have  described  is  not 
only  one  of  earnest  desire  and  strong  faith,  but  as 
it  seems  to  us,  of  true  meekness.  And  we  are  told 
in  the  Scriptures,  "The  meek  will  he  guide  in  judg- 
ment, and  the  meek  will  he  teach  his  way."  Ps.  xxv. 
9.  It  is  the  opinion  of  Fenelon,  who  seems  to  have 
had  a  personal  experience  of  the  divine  operation 
deeply  interior,  that  in  the  moments  of  mental  quiet- 
ness and  of  recollection  in  God,  in  other  words, 
when  we  look  to  God  in  a  state  of  cessation  from 
our  natural  activity,  we  should  not  hesitate  to  fol- 
low the  interior  impulses  and  attractions  of  the  soul. 
Meaning  to  be  understood,  undoubtedly,  that  if  we 
believingly  ask  for  divine  guidance  in  such  a  state 
of  mind,  the  attraction  or  tendency  of  soul,  which 
then  exists,  cannot  be  safely  ascribed  to  any  thing 
but  the  Spirit  of  God ;  and  that,  consequently,  we 
21» 


246  THE    GUIDANCE  OF  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT. 

may  consider  ourselves  under  a  divine,  and  not  un- 
der a  mere  human  direction.  This  we  beheve  to  be 
true.  Nevertheless,  in  this  case,  as  in  all  others, 
we  should  never  yield  to  the  guidance  of  any  inte- 
rior attraction,  however  it  may  have  the  appear- 
ance of  originating  with  the  Holy  Spirit,  which  at 
the  same  time  Ave  know  to  be  at  variance  with 
the  written  Word  of  God.  God  can  never  contra- 
dict himself;  and  whatever  revelation  he  has  made 
of  himself  in  his  holy  Word  we  must  regard  as  au- 
thentic, and  as  entitled  to  our  supreme  confidence. 
But  with  the  limitation  implied  in  this  remark,  we 
have  no  doubt  that  God,  operating  upon  the  mind 
in  a  divine  manner,  will  certainly  teach  and  guide 
those,  who,  in  renouncing  the  self-interested  eager- 
ness of  nature,  possess  true  meekness  and  quietness 
of  spirit,  and  who  believingly  and  earnestly  look 
to  him  for  such  teaching  and  direction. 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-FOURTH. 
Evidences  of  being  Gnided  by  the  Holy  Spirit. 

It  is  the  object  of  the  present  chapter,  without 
professing,  however,  or  attempting  to  exhaust  the 
subject,  to  lay  down  some  of  the  marks  or  eviden- 
ces of  being  guided  by  the  Holy  Spirit. 

And  accordingly  we  proceed  to  remark,  in  the 
first  place,  that  the  person,  who  is  guided  by  the 
Holy  Spirit,  will  be  eminently  perceptive  and  ra- 
tional. The  operations  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  in  the 
agency  which  he  exerts  for  the  purpose  of  enlight- 
ening and  guiding  men,  will  not  be  found  to  be  ac- 
cidental, or  abitrary,  or  in  any  sense  irrational 
operations.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say,  that  the 
Holy  Spirit  is  not  an  ignorant,  but  a  wise  Being ; 
not  an  agent  that  is  moved  by  unenlightened  im- 
pulse, but  by  perfect  knowledge.  And  this  being 
the  case,  it  is  a  natural  supposition  and  one  which 
will  be  generally  assented  to,  that  his  operations 
will  always  exist  in  accordance  with  and  not  in 
opposition  to  the  laws  of  the  human  mind.  And 
furthermore,  according  to  the  Scriptures,  a  prima- 
ry and  leading  office,  though  not  the  only  office,  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  is  to  teach  men,  to  lead  them  into 


248  EVIDENCES  OF  BEING  GUIDED 

TRUTH.  And  if  SO,  then,  ordinarily,  the  first  opera- 
tion will  he  upon  the  intellect,  in  distinction  from 
tlie  sensihilities  and  the  will.  And  we  do  not  hesitate 
to  say,  in  point  of  fact,  and  as  a  matter  of  personal 
experience,  that  the  person  who  is  gnided  by  the 
Holy  Spirit,  will  find  that  this  divine  Agent  does, 
in  reality,  impart  an  increased  clearness  to  the  in- 
tellectual or  cognitive  part  of  the  mind.  This  di- 
vine operation  is,  for  the  most  part,  very  gentle  and 
deeply  interior  ;  revealing  itself  by  its  results  more 
than  by  the  mere  mode  of  its  action ;  but  it  is 
not,  on  that  account,  any  the  less  real.  It  seems 
to  put  a  keenness  of  edge,  if  we  may  so  express 
it,  upon  the  natural  perceptivit^r,  so  as  to  enable  it 
to  separate  idea  from  idea,  proposition  from  prop- 
osition ;  and  thus  to  guide  it,  with  a  remarkable 
niceness  of  discrimination,  through  the  perplexities 
of  error  into  the  regions  of  truth.  We  repeat,  there- 
fore, that  one  evidence,  of  being  guided  by  the  Ho- 
ly Spirit,  is,  that  such  guidance  contributes  to  the 
highest  rationality.  In  other  words,  the  person,  who 
is  guided  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  other  things  being 
equal,  will  be  the  most  keenly  perceptive,  judicious, 
and  rational.  Not  flighty  and  precipitate ;  not 
prejudiced,  one-sided,  and  dogmatical,  but  like 
his  great  inward  teacher,  calmly  and  divinely  cog- 
nitive. The  experience  of  holy  men,  particularly 
of  those  who  have  made  it  a  practice  to  ask  the 
guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit  on  their  studies,  agrees 
with  this  statement. 

Second. — We  observe  in  the  second  place,  that 
the  person,  Avho  is  guided  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  will 


BY  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT.  249 

possess  a  quickly  operative  and  effective  conscience. 
This  is  too  obvious  to  require  much  remark.  It 
seems  to  be  impossible,  that  a  man  should  be  guid- 
ed by  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  not  experience  a  purified 
and  renovated  activity  of  the  moral  sense.  This 
important  result  is  what  might  naturally  be  ex- 
pected, among  other  things,  from  the  result  on  our 
intellectual  nature,  which  has  already  been  indi- 
cated. It  is  well  known  that  the  conscience  ope- 
rates in  connection  with  the  intellect,  and  subse- 
quent in  time.  There  must  necessarily  be  certain 
intellectual  data  or  facts,  as  the  basis  of  the  in- 
ward conscientious  movement.  And  in  accordance 
with  this  law,  in  proportion  as  the  truth  under  the 
guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit  developes  itself  from 
tlie  intellect,  with  greater  and  greater  clearness,  the 
action  of  the  conscience  becomes  increasingly  dis- 
tinct, sensitive,  and  energetic.  It  becomes  a  sort 
of  flaming  sword  in  the  soul ;  and  keeps  it  in  the 
way  of  life.  Accordingly,  on  this  principle,  no 
man  who  has  a  dull  and  sleepy  conscience,  a  rough 
and  blunted  edge  of  moral  perceptivity,  is  at  liber- 
ty to  say,  that  he  is  guided  by  the  Holy  Ghost. 

Third. — When  we  are  led  by  the  Holy  Spirit, 
there  will  be  a  subdued,  tranquil,  and  well  regulat- 
ed state  of  the  natural  sensibilities,  in  distinction 
from  the  moral  sensibilities  or  conscience ;  that  is 
to  say,  of  the  various  propensive  principles  and  of 
tlie  affections.  It  is  well  understood,  that,  when 
we  are  led  by  the  world  or  by  Satan,  the  various 
natural  propensities  and  affections,  which  consti- 
tute what  we  understand  by  the  natural  sensibili- 


250  EVIDENCES  OF  BEING  GUIDED 

ties,  are,  in  general,  ill  regulated,  agitated,  and  tur- 
bulent. A  really  worldly  man  is  either  externally, 
or  internally,  an  agitated  man  ;  generally  in  move- 
ment and  generally  discordant  with  himself;  re- 
sembling the  troubled  sea,  and  casting  up  to  the 
surface  of  his  spirit  mire  and  dirt.  On  the  contra- 
ry, he,  who  is  led  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  those  occasional  agitations  arising  from 
purely  instinctive  impulses,  which  do  not  recognize 
tlie  control  of  reason  and  the  will,  is  always  sub- 
dued, patient,  quiet.  His  natural  propensities, 
which,  in  persons  who  have  not  experienced  the 
same  grace,  are  so  turbulent  and  violent,  run  peace- 
ably and  appropriately  in  the  channels  which  God 
has  assigned  to  them.  His  natural  affections,  which 
so  often  become  the  masters  and  tyrants  of  the 
mind,  submit  to  the  authority  of  conscience  and 
the  will.  The  inroads  and  shocks  of  the  heaviest 
afflictions  pass  over  him,  and  leave  his  inward  sub- 
mission and  his  peace  unbroken.  A  divine  tran- 
quility is  written  upon  the  emotions  and  desires ; 
upon  the  affections  that  linger  upon  the  past  and 
upon  the  hopes  that  move  onward  to  the  future. 
In  this  respect,  being  under  this  divine  and  tran- 
scendant  teaching,  he  is  like  his  heavenly  Father. 
The  Infinite  Mind  is  always  tranquil. 

Fourth. — We  remark  again,  that  the  teachings 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  will  have  a  tendency  to  beautify 
and  perfect  the  outward  manner,  as  well  as  the  in- 
ward experience.  And  accordingly  he,  who  is  tru- 
ly under  this  divine  direction,  will  always  find  his 
conduct  characterized  by  the  utmost  decency,  pro- 


BY  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT.  251 

priety,  and  true  coiirteousness.     I  believe  it  is  a 
common  remark,  that  a  truly  devout  and  holy  per- 
son may,  in  general,   be  easily  recognized  by  the 
outward  manner.     And  this  remark,  which  is  con- 
firmed by  experience,  has  its  foundation  in  nature. 
The  natural  life,  which  is  inordinately  full  of  self 
and  is  often  prompted  in  its  movements  by  passion, 
pride,  and  prejudice,  will  of  course  develop  itself 
in   an   outward  manner   as    extravagant,    incon- 
sistent, and  imperfect,  as  the  inward  source  from 
which  it  springs.     Hence  it  is  that  we  so  often  see, 
in  the  intercourse  of  man  with  man,  so  much  that 
shocks  our  notions  of  propriety ;  so  much  in  word 
or  in  action  that  is  characterized  by  violence  or 
levity ;  so  much  that  is  unsuitable  to  the  time  and 
place.     But  he,  on  the  contrary,  in  whom  the  nat- 
ural life  is  slain,  and  in  the  centre  of  whose  heart 
tlie  Holy  Spirit  has  taken  up  his  residence  to  in- 
spire it  with  truth  and  love,  will  discover  an  out- 
ward manner  as  true,  as  simple,  and  as  beautiful, 
as  the  inward  perfection  from  which  it  has  its  ori- 
ghi.     A  voice  inspired  with  gentleness  and  love,  a 
countenance  not  only  free  from  the  distortions  of 
passion  but  radiant  with  inward  peace,  a  freedom 
from  unbecoming  gayety  and  thoughtless  mirth,  a 
propriety  of  expression  resulting  from  seriousness 
of  character,  a  disposition  to  bear  meekly  and  af- 
fectionately with  the  infirmities  of  others^  a  placid 
self-possession,  an  unaffected  but  strict  regard  to 
the  proprieties  of  time,  place,  and  station,  can  hard- 
ly fail  to  impress  upon  the  outward  beholder  a 
conviction  of  the  purity  and  power  which  dwell 
within. 


252  EVIDENCES  OF  BEING  GUIDED 

Fifth. — We  proceed  to  say  further,  that  he,  who 
is  under  the  guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  will  al- 
ways find  himself  in  the  position  of  coincidence 
and  union  with  the  divine  Providences.     He  will 
not  only  be  in  harmony  with  whatever  is  true  and 
beautiful  in  human  intercourse ;  but  there  will  also 
be  no  jarring  and  no  points  of  discordant  contact 
between  his  conduct  and  the  unerring  consecution 
of  providential  dispensations.     This  will  be  suffi- 
ciently obvious,  we   suppose,  without  going  into 
any  length  of  remark.     It  is  unquestionable  that 
the  will  of  God,  as  we  have  already  seen  in  a  for- 
mer chapter,  is  made  known  to  a  considerable  ex- 
tent,   in  his  providential  dealings.     Consequently 
the  language  of  the  Holy  Spirit  will  never,  in  any 
case,  contradict  the  correctly  interpreted  language 
of  divine  Providence.     On  the  contrary,  they  will 
always  completely,  and,  as  they  have  but  one  au- 
thor, will  necessarily  harmonize.     To  illustrate  the 
subject,  the  Holy  Spirit  Avill  never  instruct  an  in- 
dividual to   give   to  religious   purposes   a  certain 
amount  of  property,  when  the  Providence  of  God, 
by  taking  away  his  property,  has  rendered  the  do- 
nation an  impossibility.     Again,   the  Holy  Spirit 
will  never,  by  an  interior  teaching,  instruct  a  man 
to  go  upon  a  distant  missionary  enterprise,  when 
at  the  same  time  the  Providence  of  God,  by  placing 
him  on  a  bed  of  sickness,  has  rendered  him  incapa- 
ble of  the  requisite  physical  and  mental  exertion. 
And  if  any  impressions  or  convictions,  which  thus 
involve  a  contradiction  of  the  voice  of  the  Spirit 
and  the  voice  of  Providence,  should  rest  upon  the 


BY  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT.  253 

mind  of  any  person,  he  may  be  assured  that  they 
come  from  a  wrong  source,  and  ought  to  be  reject- 
ed. We  assert,  therefore,  that  he,  who  is  led  by 
the  Holy  Spirit,  will  find  his  conduct  beautifully 
harmonizing  with  the  events  of  divine  Providence, 
as  they  daily  and  hourly  develop  themselves.  In 
other  words,  Avhile  he  is  continually  led  by  the  in- 
ward guidance  to  do  and  to  suffer  the  divine  will, 
he  always  finds  himself  acting  and  suffering  in  co- 
operation with  the  manifested  designs  and  arrange- 
ments of  God. 

Sixth. — He,  who  is  led  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  will 
find  his  conduct,  just  so  far  as  he  is  the  subject  of 
this  divine  guidance,  in  entire  harmony  with  the 
teachings  of  the  Scriptures.  It  has  already  been  in- 
timated, that  the  voice  of  the  Spirit  can  never  be 
contradictory  to  itself  And  accordingly  having  spo- 
ken in  the  Scriptures,  it  can  never  contradict  what 
it  has  there  said  by  any  interior  revelation  to  indi- 
vidual minds.  If,  for  instance,  the  Scriptures,  dic- 
tated by  the  divine  Spirit,  have,  for  wise  and  ade- 
quate purposes,  authorized  and  required  the  specific 
observance  of  the  Lord's  day,  and  have  authorized 
and  required  the  setting  apart  of  the  ministry,  or 
have  recognized  and  established  other  institutions 
and  ordinances,  it  would  be  unreasonable  to  sup- 
pose, that  the  same  Spirit,  in  contradiction  to  him- 
self, will  guide  individual  minds  to  a  disregard  and 
contempt  of  those  institutions.  And  in  like  manner, 
if  the  Bible,  in  any  case  of  specific  and  personal 
action,  requires  a  thing  either  to  be  done  or  to  be 
omitted  to  be  done,  the  Holy  Spirit,  operating  on  in- 
22 


254  EVIDENCES  OF  BEING  GUIDED 

dividual  minds,  will  teach  the  same  thing ;  and  will 
always  lead  the  subject  of  his  operations  to  the 
performance  in  the  one  case,  and  to  the  omission  in 
the  other.  And  in  all  cases  whatever,  as  the  Holy 
Spirit,  speaking  hi  the  heart,  and  the  Holy  Spirit 
speaking  in  the  Bible,  necessarily  utter  the  same 
voice,  they  will  necessarily  in  their  ultimate  ten- 
dencies lead  to  the  same  result. 

And  we  may  remark  further,  in  comiection  with 
what  has  now  been  said,  that  he,  who  is  led  by  the 
Spirit,  will  love  to  be  led  by  the  Spirit.  It  will  be 
his  delight.  And  under  the  influence  of  this  divine 
attraction,  he  will  earnestly  strive  to  ascertain  the 
mind  of  the  Spirit.  And  consequently  he  will  be 
led  to  the  Bible,  as  one  of  the  most  valuable  means 
of  ascertaining  it ;  he  will  read  it  much  ;  he  will 
read  it  with  seriousness,  candor,  and  prayer ;  that 
he  may  know  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  divine 
communications,  which  are  there  made.  And  the 
pleasing  and  important  result  will  be,  that  his  life 
will  be  characterized  by  the  same  traits  of  submis- 
sion and  love,  of  regard  for  the  divine  institutions 
and  precepts,  of  prompt  and  consistent  action  and 
of  mighty  faith,  which  adorn  the  lives  of  those, 
of  whom  the  Scriptures  give  us  an  account. 

Finally. — We  may  remark  in  conclusion,  and  as 
in  some  sense  embracing  the  whole  subject:  It  is  an 
evidence,  that  a  person  is  guided  by  the  Holy  Spir- 
it, whose  whole  conduct,  whether  considered  in  its 
particulars  or  in  its  general  outline,  has  a  distinctly 
favorable  bearing  on  the  promotion  of  God's  glory 
in  the  world.     The  end  of   all  things  is  the  glo- 


BY  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT.  255 

ry  of  God.  In  the  promotion  of  this  great  ob- 
ject, God,  the  Holy  Ghost,  co-operates  with  God 
the  Father,  and  God  the  Son.  The  Holy  Ghost, 
therefore,  recognizes  and  enforces  the  great  truth, 
that  all  subordinate  tendencies,  that  all  inferior  and 
private  interests,  whenever  they  receive  a  corrected 
and  sanctified  direction,  will  always  converge  to 
the  same  centre,  and  will  never  reach  their  termi- 
nus, if  we  may  so  express  it,  except  in  the  bosom 
of  the  adorable  Infinite.  To  this  great  result,  all 
his  interior  and  individual  teachings  infallibly  tend. 
To  know  all  things  and  to  love  all  things  in  God ; 
to  annihilate  self  in  all  the  various  forms  of  crea- 
ture-love and  of  self-will,  and  to  make  God  the 
great  centre  of  our  being ;  this  only  is  true  wisdom 
and  everlasting  life.  He,  therefore,  who  is  led  by 
the  teachmgs  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  will  be  taught 
that  he  must  think  for  God,  feel  for  God,  will  for 
God,  act  for  God ;  and  that  the  great  reality  of  God, 
which  is  the  true  begmnmg  and  completion  of  all  re- 
ligious life,  must  be  received  into  the  soul  as  the 
paramount  motive  ;  and  with  a  power  to  expel  all 
subordmate  motives,  and  to  reign  there  forever  with 
supreme  dominion. 

Such  are  some  of  the  marks  by  which  those  may 
be  knoAvn,  who  are  led  by  the  Divine  Spirit.  These 
are  a  hidden  people.  They  have  intimacy  with  the 
Highest ;  but  they  are,  nevertheless,  the  little  ones, 
that  are  almost  unknown  among  men.  Rational 
with  the  highest  degree  of  rationality,  scrupulously 
conscientious,  ever  desirous  to  learn  the  will  of  God 


256  EVIDENCES  OF  BEING  GUIDED  BY  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT. 

est  and  sincerely  courteous  and  becoming  in  their 
intercourse  with  their  fellow-men,  and  governed  un- 
der all  circumstances  by  a  supreme  regard  to  God's 
glory,  they  pass  calmly  and  devoutly  through  the 
world,  blessed  m  themselves  and  a  blessing  to  oth- 
ers. And  yet  the  people  of  the  world,  blinded 
by  their  unbelief,  but  little  know  and  little  value 
that  interior  instruction,  by  which  they  are  thus 
guided  to  the  illuminated  heights  of  evangelical 
perfection.  Happy  is  he  who  is  led,  not  by  mere 
sights  and  sounds;  not  by  strange  and  momen- 
tary impressions,  which  may  come  from  the  disor- 
dered senses,  from  the  world,  or  from  the  devil ;  but 
by  that  clear  light  which  illuminates  the  intellect, 
the  conscience,  and  the  heart ;  which  is  ever  consis- 
tent with  itself  and  with  God's  Word  and  Provi- 
dences ;  and  which  has  in  reality  for  its  author,  the 
Comforter,  the  Holy  Ghost. 


m. 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-FIFTH. 


On  the  voice  of  God  in  the  interior  solitude  of  the  soul. 


"Therefore,  behold,  I  mil  allure  her  and  bring  her  into  the  wil- 
derness, [that  is,  into  the  retired  or  soUtary  place,]  and  speak  com- 
fortably unto  her.^^  Hosea  2  :  14. 

It  seems  to  have  been  a  favorite  idea  among  some 
of  the  philosophers  of  ancient  times,  and  also, 
to  some  extent,  among  the  serions  and  reflecting  of 
later  periods,  that  seasons  of  solitude  are  propitious 
to  inward  teachings.  Certain  it  is,  under  certain 
circumstances  and  positions  in  its  history,  that  the 
soul,  in  proportion  as  it  ceases  to  be  perplexed  by- 
outward  and  worldly  influences,  appears  to  increase 
its  inward  receptivity,  and  does  actually  become 
the  subject  of  pleasant  and  purifying  visitations, 
which  bring  not  only  peace,  but  truth.  Perhaps  it 
may  be  said  with  truth,  that  no  man  has  ever  be- 
come truly  eminent,  even  in  the  worldly  sense  of 
the  term,  that  no  man  has  ever  been  able  to  perfect 
the  great  works  of  literature  and  art,  who  did  not 
love  solitude.  It  is  in  solitude  that  the  soul,  no 
longer  wasted  in  the  frivolities  of  social  and  con- 
gregated life,  gathers  up  the  fragments  of  its  pow- 
ers, and  learns  the  mighty  secret  of  its  refreshed 
22* 


258         ON  THE  VOICE  OF  GOD  IN  THE 

and  consolidated  strength.  It  was  not  in  the  splen- 
did court  of  Augustus,  but  in  the  retirement .  of 
Mantua,  and  on  the  banks  of  the  Mincius,  that  Virgil 
wrote  his  enduring  poems.  It  was  in  the  solitary 
vales  of  Vaucluse,  and  not  in  the  palaces  of  Avig- 
non, that  the  works  of  Petrarch  were  composed. 
In  poverty,  in  seclusion,  and  in  blindness,  and  not 
in  the  turbulence  of  the  political  arena,  and  amid 
the  convulsions  and  labors  of  public  life,  did  Milton 
perfect  his  great  work,  the  Paradise  Lost. 

But  if  it  be  thus  evident,  both  from  their  exam- 
ple and  testimony,  that  seasons  of  solitude  are  im- 
portant to  the  philosopher,  the  orator,  the  poet, 
and  indeed  to  all  men  who  aim  at  great  intellectual 
results,  they  are  certainly  not  less  essential  and  in- 
dispensable to  the  Christian.  /  Without  seasons  of 
retirement,  in  which  the  Christian  can  commune 
with  the  conversations  of  his  own  soul,  he  necessa- 
rily lives  a  weak  and  evaporated  life,  destitute  of 
the  fulness  of  interior  strength,  and  without  the 
record  of  outward  and  aggressive  victories.  \  If 
philosophers,  and  orators,  and  poets,  in  rejecting 
the  company  of  men,  have  found  that  higher  in- 
spiration, which  they  have  fictitiously  ascribed  to 
the  company  of  the  Muses,  how  much  more  shall 
the  Christian,  by  rejecting,  so  far  as  he  can  con- 
sistently with  duty,  the  unnecessary  social  and 
conventional  requisitions  which  are  constantly 
made  upon  him,  be  visited  with  the  inspirations  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  and  be  clothed  with  the  baptism 
of  God.  But  without  delaying  further  upon  these 
general  remarks,  we  proceed  now  more  minutely 
to  the  following  considerations. 


INTERIOR  SOLITDDE  OF  THE  SOUL.  259 

(1.) — There  are  two  kinds  of  solitude,  viz.,  the 
EXTERIOR  and  the  interior.  Both  have  their  appro- 
priate place  and  their  appropriate  value.  Exterior 
as  well  as  interior  solitude  has  its  worth.  Who 
that  has  mingled  much  in  the  assemblies  of  men 
and  has  been  involved  in  the  perplexities  of  world- 
ly business,  in  the  strife  and  the  turmoil,  the  jeal- 
ousies and  the  cupidities  of  corrupted  human  life, 
has  not  often  thought  of  the  blessings  of  retirement, 
and  sighed  for  the  hour  and  the  place  of  solitude  ; 
some  vale,  which  has  heard  the  voice  only  of  its  own 
woods  and  waters ;  some  mountain,  untrodden  by 
human  footsteps,  where  the  soul  could  cease  from 
its  agitations  and  enter  into  rest?  Charles  the 
Fifth,  one  of  the  familiar  names  of  history,  whose 
ambition  and  power  had  agitated  Europe  for  more 
than  half  a  century,  resigned  his  authority  in  the 
latter  part  of  his  life,  and  spent  the  remainder  of 
his  days  in  the  secluded  monastery  of  St.  Justus. 
He  felt  deeply,  that  territorial  acquisitions  offered 
but  a  poor  compensation  for  desolations  of  the  heart, 
and  that  retirement  alone  could  give  what  society 
and  the  activities  of  public  stations  had  taken  away. 

But  there  is  an  authority  on  this  subject,  which 
will  have  more  weight  with  the  Christian,  than  any 
other  name  which  can  be  mentioned.  Our  blessed 
Savior  had  his  seasons  of  retirement.  Often,  at- 
tended by  a  few  companions,  and  not  unfrequent- 
ly  alone,  he  retired  by  day,  or  in  the  silent  hours 
of  the  night,  to  the  garden  of  Gethsemane,  to  the 
shades  of  Olivet,  to  solitary  places  in  the  wilder- 
ness, by  the  sea  side,  or  in  distant  mountains.     His 


260  ON  THE  VOICE  OF  GOD  IN  THE 

pure  soul  felt  the  wearisomeness  of  this  vain  world; 
and  it  was  in  the  holy  recollection  of  retirement, 
and  in  solitary  communion  with  the  Infinite  Mind, 
that  he  gained  strength  for  the  severities  of 
his  dreadful  conflict  and  for  the  glories  of  his  final 
triumph.  Happy  is  he,  who  can  at  times  separate 
himself  from  the  perplexities  and  the  cares  of  the 
world,  which,  in  their  natural  tendency  and  their 
direct  action,  are  so  unfavorable  to  tranquillity  of 
spirit  and  to  union  with  God. 

(2.) — But  there  are  some  persons,  who  are  so  pe- 
culiarly situated  that  it  is  very  difficult,  if  not  im- 
possible, for  them  to  possess  the  privilege  of  this  ex- 
terior retirement.  And  this  leads  us  to  remark,  in 
the  second  place,  that  there  is  an  inward  or  interior 
retirement,  which,  in  its  nature  and  its  applications, 
is  far  more  valuable  than  that  which  is  exterior. 
Indeed,  outward  solitude  can  scarcely  be  regarded 
as  having  any  value  whatever,  except  as  it  tends 
to  promote  the  solitude  and  sacred  repose  of  the 
mind.  If,  therefore,  you  are  so  situated  as  to  have 
no  opportunities  of  exterior  solitude,  no  shaded 
gardens  and  no  secluded  valleys  into  which  you 
can  retire,  let  it,  nevertheless,  be  your  endeavor  to 
secure,  at  suitable  times,  the  greater  blessing  of  in- 
terior seclusion,  the  solitude  of  the  soul.  The  con- 
taminating influence  which  we  chiefly  fear,  and 
which  we  would  keep  at  a  distance  from  us, 
exists  in  the  world ;  in  the  contriving,  agitating, 
speculating,  contentious,  evil  world.  By  exterior 
solitude  we  keep  the  world  from  our  persons;  by 
interior  solitude  we  banish  it  from  our  minds. 


INTERIOR  SOLITUDE  OF  THE  SOUL.  261 

Alban  Butler,  the  learned  author  of  the  Lives  of 
the  Saints,  in  speaking  of  Catharine  of  Sienna,  who 
had  been  deprived  of  her  usual  opportunities  of  re- 
ligious retirement,  remarks;  "If  any  thing  grieved 
her,  it  .was  the  loss  of  her  dear  solitude.  But  the 
Holy  Ghost,  that  interior  faithful  master,  to  whom 
she  listened,  taught  her  to  make  another  solitude  in 
her  heart ;  where,  amidst  all  her  occupations,  she 
considered  herself  always  as  alone  with  God ;  to 
whose  presence  she  kept  herself  no  less  attentive, 
than  if  she  had  no  exterior  employment  to  distract 
her." 

But  the  question  arises  here,  On  what  principles  is 
it  that  we  may  possess  and  retain  the  great  blessing 
of  true  inward  seclusion  7  And  in  answer  to  this 
question,  we  may  justly  remark,  among  other 
things,  that  one  of  the  great  aids  of  interior  solitude 
is  silence  from  unnecessary  words.  It  was  the 
prayer  of  the  Psalmist,  "Set  a  watch,  O  Lord,  be- 
fore my  mouth;  keep  the  door  of  my  lips."  He 
that  hath  not  power  over  his  tongue,  that  he  may 
cease  when  he  pleases  from  the  vain  babblings  of 
men,  can  never  enter  into  interior  retirement.  Such  a 
person  has  within  him  a  spirit  of  outward  commu- 
nication, which  necessarily  draws  him  out  of  him- 
self One  of  the  first  duties  of  those  who  would 
possess  interior  solitude,  and  thus  make  advance- 
ment in  the  religious  life,  is  to  possess  and  to  main- 
tain an  absolute  control  of  "the  door  of  the  lips." 

Another  assistance  in  entering  into  this  desira- 
able  state  is  by  means  of  cessation  from  wandering 
and  unnecessarily  discursive  thoughts.     There  are 


262  ON  THE  VOICE  OF  GOD  IN  THE 

some  persons,  who  exhibit  what  may  be  called  an 
incontinency  of  mental  action.  They  seem  to  have 
lost,  in  a  great  degree,  the  power  or  rather  the  dis- 
position, to  control  the  principle  of  thought ;  and 
may  be  regarded  as  gadders  abroad  speculatively, 
if  not  bodily.  The  inordinate  and  unrestrained  in- 
tellectual activity,  which  characterizes  such  per- 
sons, must  not  only  be  retrenched  and  corrected; 
but  the  mind,  in  the  process  and  the  result  of  re- 
striction and  curtailment,  must  be  made  to  revolve 
around  the  great  central  idea  of  God  alone.  This 
idea,  fixed  in  the  mind  to  the  exclusion  of  every 
thing  else  or  of  every  thing  which  is  not  related  to 
itself,  may  be  regarded  as  the  central  pillar  in  the 
temple  of  interior  solitude.  And  furthermore,  the 
mind,  in  its  withdrawment  from  other  objects  and 
its  concentration  upon  this  great  idea,  should  act 
contemplatively  rather  than  in  the  way  of  specula- 
tion ;  and  by  a  fixed  or  unitive  view  rather  than 
by  a  separative  and  discursive  process.  It  is  not 
the  fragmentary  but  the  unitive  idea;  in  other 
words,  the  idea  of  God,  not  in  the  elemental  and 
disjointed  aspect  of  his  separate  attributes,  but  in 
the  inseparable  complexity  and  entireness  of  his  ac- 
tual nature,  which  attracts,  fixes,  and  absorbs  the 
mental  view.  The  mind,  withdrawn  from  out- 
ward objects,  and  embracing  by  a  single  act  this 
immense  and  consolidated  idea,  ceases  from  all  dis- 
cursive action,  (that  is,  from  all  action  which  has 
not  a  natural  and  close  connection  with  the  central 
idea,)  and  enters  into  what  may  properly  be  called 
a  state  of  intellectual  repose.     And  where  should  a 


INTERIOR  SOLITUDE  OF  THE  SOUL.  263 

created  and  necessarily  inferior  mind,  and  which  in 
consequence  of  its  inferiority  is  hkely  to  be  troubled 
and  perplexed  on  many  subjects,  where  should 
such  a  mind,  even  in  its  speculative  action,  find 
rest,  but  in  that  central  idea  of  the  Infinite  Mind  7 
Attaching  itself  to  the  idea  of  the  Infinite  by  one 
concentrated  and  firmly  adhesive  effort,  the  ideas 
of  inferior  things,  which  float  around  it  like  sum- 
mer insects,  have  lost  their  power  to  trouble  it,  and 
may  be  said  virtually  to  have  no  existence.  And 
accordingly  it  may  be  said  to  dwell,  even  specula- 
tively or  conceptively,  that  is  to  say,  considered  as 
a  .mere  principle  of  perception  and  thought,  alone 
with  God. 

And  again,  in  this  state  of  mind,  if  a  person  be 
a  truly  consecrated  or  sanctified  person,  he  will  ex- 
perience, (and  this  is  of  greater  consequence  to  the 
full  realization  of  internal  solitude,)  a  cessation  from 
internal  agitation,  in  the  region  of  the  emotions 
and  passions.  We  do  not  mean  to  say  that  the 
emotions  and  ])assions  will  necessarily  be  extinct  in 
their  action.  But  what  we  mean  is  this :  As  they 
flow  out  on  their  appropriate  occasions,  they  main- 
tain their  true  and  appropriate  position ;  there  is  no 
discordance,  no  jarring,  but  true  inward  peace. 
That  peace  which  the  Savior  seems  to  have  had 
in  view  when  he  said,  "Peace  I  leave  with  you; 
my  peace  I  give  unto  you."  The  world,  in  all  that 
is  not  connected  with  the  great  idea  of  God,  has  de» 
parted  from  view.  Its  petty  interests,  its  competi- 
tions, its  strifes,  its  clamors  pass  by  unheeded.  Its 
distant  sounds  fall  noiseless  upon  the  mental  ear. 


264  ON  THE  VOICE  OF  GOD  IN  THE 

The  soul  is  lost  in  adoration  ;  lost  to  the  world,  but 
alive  to  God  ;  shut  out  from  the  exterior  and  visi- 
ble, but  shut  in  with  the  invisible  one;  deaf  alike 
to  the  solicitations  and  teachings  of  men,  but  Avith 
open  ears  to  the  instructions  of  the  great  Teachej. 
Its  language  is,  "Speak,  Lord,  for  thy  servant 
heareth."  He  does  well  who  enters  into  his  closet 
in  the  literal  sense,  but  he  does  better  who  enters 
into  the  mental  closet,  and  having  shut  the  door  in- 
teriorly, prays  to  his  Father,  "  who  seetli  in  se- 
cret, and  his  Father,  who  scelh  in  secret,  shall  re- 
ward him  openly."  (  And  it  is  an  obvious  remark, 
that  the  closet  of  interior  solitude  is,  to  a  consider- 
able extent,  within  the  reach  of  every  man,  and  es- 
pecially of  every  Christian.  In  the  bustling  street 
and  in  the  clamorous  forum,  in  the  market  place, 
in  the  Senate,  in  all  places  of  common  and  public 
resort,  it  is  the  Christian's  privilege,  (a  privilege 
which  money  cannot  purchase  and  power  cannot 
wrest  from  him,)  to  shut  the  door  of  outward  com- 
munication and  be  alone  with  God.  O  delightful 
retirement !  O  blessed  retreat  from  noise  and  folly! 
It  is  then  that  the  soul  knows  the  embraces  of  its 
Beloved,  and  hears  '-divine  philosophy"  indeed.^ 

(3.) — This  subject  is  particularly  interesting  and 
important,  in  connection  with  those  who  have  ex- 
perienced the  blessing  of  sanctification.  It  may  be 
regarded  as  a  first  and  unchangeable  truth,  that 
God  cannot  be  absent  from  any  thing  that  is  holy, 
however  remote,  however  insignificant  it  may  be. 
In  the  nature  of  things  it  is  impossible.  From  the 
first  moment  of  the  soul's  restoration  to  purity, how- 


INTERIOR  SOLITUDE  OF  THE  SOUL.  265 

ever  cast  out  and  wretched  it  may  have  been  be- 
fore, it  recognizes  the  approach  of  the  Divinity. 
/'From  that  memorable  hour  it  enters  into  a  divine 
companionship,  which  neither  time,  nor  place,  nor 
power,  nor  selfish  men,  nor  confederated  devils,  can 
delay  or  separate,  j  God's  love  to  a  truly  purified 
being  is  infinite,  and  nothing  short  of  infinite  pow- 
er could  keep  him  even  for  a  moment  from  a  most 
intimate  and  essential  union  with  such  a  holy  soul. 
No  matter  in  what  outward  condition  that  soul 
may  be,  no  matter  how  unknown  and  uuhonored 
among  men,  it  has  no  sooner  become  purified  in  the 
baptism  of  holiness,  than  it  shines  infinitely  more 
brightly  to  the  omniscient  eye  than  the  purest  and 
brightest  star  of  his  own  glittering  firmament. 
Prompted  by  the  unchangeable  principles  of  his 
infinite  nature.  He  comes  to  his  own,  and  it  can  no 
longer  be  said  that  "his  own  received  him  not." 

On  this  interesting  subject,  viz.  the  necessary 
union  of  a  sanctified  soul  with  God,  I  have  often 
read  with  interest  a  passage  in  the  writings  of  Dr. 
Cud  worth.  Speaking  of  holiness,  he  says,  "If  it  be 
but  hearty  and  sincere,  it  can  no  more  be  cut  off 
and  discontinued  from  God,  than  a  sunbeam  here 
upon  earth  can  be  broken  off"  from  its  intercourse 
with  the  sun,  and  be  left  alone  amidst  the  mire  and 
dirt  of  this  world.  Holiness  is  something  of  God 
wherever  it  is.  It  is  an  efflux  from  Him,  that  al- 
ways hangs  upon  him,  and  lives  in  Him ;  as  the 
sunbeams,  although  they  gild  this  lower  world, 
and  spread  their  golden  wings  over  us,   yet  they 


266         ON  THE  VOICE  OF  GOD  IN  THE 

are  not  so  much  here,  where  they  shine,  as  in  the 
sun  from  whence  they  flow." 

But  aUhongh  God,  in  point  of  fact,  is  always 
intimately  united  to  souls  that  are  in  sanctilication, 
such  is  the  limited  nature  of  the  human  mind,  and 
so  many  are  the  objects  in  the  present  life  which 
necessarily  occupy  its  attention,  that  it  is  not  al- 
ways consciously  percipient  of  his  presence.  And 
hence  the  advantage  of  interior  solitude  ;  the  ines- 
timable value  of  that  silent  and  hidden  retreat 
within,'  where  the  soul  can  find  the  Bridegroom, 
who  is  always  present  without  always  being  known. 
It  is  then  she  hears  his  voice,  and  like  the  spouse 
in  the  Canticles  exclaims.  "He  that  brought  me  to 
the  banqueting  house,  and  his  banner  over  me  is 
love."  It  is  in  interior  solitude  that  he  speaks,  be- 
cause the  inward  ear,  no  longer  occupied  by  I  he 
noise  and  discords  of  the  world,  is  prepared  to  lis- 
ten. We  may  lay  it  down  as  a  great  practical  and 
religious  principle,  that  God  does  not,  as  a  general 
thing,  speak  efficiently  to  an  inattentive  ear.  His 
honor  is  too  much  concerned  to  teach  those  who 
are  unwilling  to  attend.  He  speaks  too  in  the  ^^still 
small  voice,^^  and  hence  he  is  necessarily  understood 
in  proportion  as  there  is  the  greater  inward  silence. 
And  where  there  is  not  some  degree  of  interior  sol- 
itude by  a  withdrawment  of  the  thoughts  from  the 
world,  and  by  a  meek  and  subdued  stillness  of  the 
passions,  may  we  not  even  say,  that  the  divine  mes- 
sage, the  voice  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  is  not  and  can- 
not be  heard  at  all  7  How  great,  then,  is  the  loss 
of  those  who  are  stunned  by  the  confusion  and 


INTERIOR  SOLITUDE  OF  THE  SOUL.  2G7 

clamor  of  the  things  without,  and  hear  not  the 
teachings  of  the  "still  small  voice !"  How  great  is 
the  folly  as  well  as  the  loss  of  those  who  are  wil- 
ling to  accept  the  babblings  of  fallen  human  nature 
for  the  conversations  of  the  unsullied  Divinity  y  O, 
my  God,  may  I  enter  into  this  calm  rest  of  interior 
solitude,  that  thou  mayst  speak,  and  that  my  soul 
may  hear.  In  the  language  of  one,  who  knew  thee 
and  loved  thee,  I  would  say,  "O  God,  who  art  the 
truth,  make  me  one  with  thee  in  everlasting  love  J/ 
I  am  often  weary  of  reading  and  weary  of  hear- 
ing. In  thee  alone  is  the  sum  of  all  my  desires. 
Let  all  teachers  be  silent :  let  the  whole  creation  be 
dumb  before  thee ;  and  do  Thou  only   speak  unto 

MY    SOVL^* 

It  is  the  unagitated  soul,  (unagitated,  not  because 
it  is  inert  and  stupid,  but  because  it  has  shut  out 
disturbing  outward  influences,  and  has  entered  in- 
to the  rest  and  purity  of  perfect  love,)  to  which 
God  especially  communicates  himself.  God  is  ever 
ready  to  communicate  himself.  God  is  love  ;  and 
LOVE,  whose  nature  it  is  to  go  out  of  itself  for  the 
good  of  others,  lives  by  communication.  The  true 
and  available  activity,  therefore,  is  to  put  ourselves, 
by  inward  retirement,  in  the  attitude  of  quiescent 
and  reverential  reception ;  to  open  the  door,  as  it 
were,  for  the  divine  entrance ;  to  seek  God  by  seek- 
ing a  deliverance  from  every  thing  , which  opposes 
the  admission  of  God.  Love,  which  is  active  with- 
out weariness,  and  may  be  said  to  labor  without 
toil,  will  find  us  out,  if  we  do  not  hide  ourselves  in 

*  Author  of  the  Imitation  of  Christ,  Bk.  I,  Ch.  6. 


268       ON  THE  VOICE  OF  GOD  IN  THE  SOUL. 

the  dark  corners  of  this  miserable  and  selfish  world. 
Well  has  the  poet  Wordsworth  said  of  the  teach- 
ings of  nature,  and  much  more,  when  it  is  proper- 
ly understood,  (viz.  as  inculcating  a  cessation  from 
our  own  wisdom  that  we  may  become  receptive  of 
a  higher  wisdom,)  can  it  be  said  of  the  teachings  of 
religion  ; 

"Nor  less  I  deem,  that  there  are  powers, 
"WTiich  oi  themselves  our  minds  impress j 

"That  we  cau  feed  this  mind  of  ours 
"In  a  wise  passiveness. 

"Think  you,  'mid  all  this  mighty  sum 

"Of  things  for  ever  speaking, 
"  That  nothing  of  itself  will  come, 

"But  we  must  still  be  seeking?" 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-SIXTH. 


Of  the  excision  and  crncifixion  of  the  natural  life. 


[  "And  if  thy  right  eye  offend  thee,  pluck  it  out,  and  cast  it 
from  thee ;  for  it  is  profitable  for  thee  that  one  of  thy  members 
should  perish  and  not  that  thy  whole  body  should  be  cast  into  hell. 
And  if  thy  right  hand  offend  thee,  cut  it  off,  and  cast  it  from 
thee ;  for  it  is  profitable  for  thee  that  one  of  thy  members  should 
perish,  and  not  that  thy  whole  body  should  be  cast  into  hell." 
Mat.  5:  29,30.] 

Man,  in  his  state  of  rebellion,  has  formed  for  him- 
self a  new  centre.  To  that  centre,  which  is  his 
own  selfish  interest,  he  has  bound  himself  by  an 
almost  hifinite  number  of  ties.  Hence  the  necessity 
of  the  process  of  Excision  ;  a  process  often  exceed- 
ingly painful ;  but  mevitable  to  him,  who  would  be 
relieved  from  his  false  position,  and  put  in  harmony 
with  God.  There  must  be  a  cutting  off,  and  a  re- 
newed and  repeated  cutting  off,  till  the  tree  of 
Self,  despoiled  of  its  branches  and  fohage,  and  thus 
deprived  of  the  nourishment  of  the  rain,  the  sun, 
and  the  atmosphere,  dies  down  to  its  very  root ; 
giving  place,  in  its  destruction,  to  the  sweet  bloom 
of  the  tree  of  life. 

We  have  formerly  had  occasion  to  say,  that  a 
life  of  practical  holiness  depends  essentially  upon 
23* 


270  OF  THE  EXCISION  AND  CRUCIFIXION 

two  things :  first,  upon  an  entire  consecration  of 
ourselves,  body  and  spirit,  to  the  Lord ;  and  second, 
upon  a  beUef  that  this  consecration  is  accepted. 
We  must,  in  the  first  place,  offer  up  our  whole  be- 
ing as  a  sacrifice  to  the  Lord,  laying  all  upon  his 
altar.  But  we  should  remember,  it  is  laid  there, 
in  order  that  the  natural  life  may  be  consumed, 
and  that  there  may  be  a  resurrection  of  the  true 
spiritual  life  from  its  ashes.  He,  therefore,  who  has 
consecrated  himself  to  God,  must  expect  that  the 
truth  of  the  consecration  will  be  tested  by  the  se- 
verity of  an  interior  crucifixion,  which  is  the  death 
of  nature,  but  in  the  end  present  and  everlasting 
life.  It  is  not  till  the  flame  has  come  upon  us,  and 
we  have  passed  through  the  fire  of  the  inward  cru- 
cifixion, which  consumes  the  rottenness  and  the 
hay  and  stubble  of  the  old  life  of  nature,  that  we 
can  speak,  in  a  higher  sense,  of  the  new  life  ;  and 
say,  Christ  liveth  in  me.  But  this  subject,  which 
is  vitally  important  in  connection  with  the  highest 
results  of  religious  experience,  will  be  better  under- 
stood by  going  into  some  particulars. 

(1) — In  the  first  place,  God  will  require  of  us, 
in  the  fulfilment  of  our  act  of  consecration,  that  we 
shall  separate  ourselves  from  all  inordinate  indul- 
gences of  the  senses.  Undoubtedly  there  is  a  de- 
gree of  natural  pleasure,  connected  with  the  use  of 
the  senses,  which  is  lawful.  But  it  is  very  obvious, 
that  self  in  the  natural  man  has  polluted  every 
thing  here.  It  is  in  connection  with  the  senses, 
that  we  find  one  of  the  strong  ties,  which  bind  man 
to  his  idols,  and  subject  his  proud  spirit.    This 


OF  THE  NATURAL  LIFE.  271 

Strong  bond  must  be  sundered.  No  one  can  be  ac- 
ceptable to  God,  who  does  not  crucify  and  reject 
every  form  of  attraction  and  pleasure  from  this 
source,  which  is  not  in  accordance  with  the  inten- 
tions of  nature,  and  does  not  receive  the  divine  ap- 
probation and  sanction. 

(II.) — We  are  required  in  the  second  place,  to 
crucify  the  natural  affections,  interesting  and  im- 
portant as  they  are,  so  far  as  they  are  not  purified 
in  divine  love  and  made  one  with  the  divine  will. 
These  affections,  even  in  their  more  amiable  and 
lovely  forms,  often  gain  an  ascendency  in  the  mind, 
and  exercise  a  tyranny  over  it,  which  is  inconsis- 
tent with  the  restoration  of  unity  with  God.  How 
many  persons  make  idols  of  their  children,  or  of 
other  near  relatives  !  It  is  very  obvious  that  such 
strong  attachments,  though  they  may  be  dear  as 
the  right  hand  or  the  right  eye,  must  be  crucified 
and  cut  off.  "He,  that  loveth  father  or  mother," 
says  the  Savior,  "more  than  me,  is  not  worthy  of 
me.  And  he,  that  loveth  son,  or  daughter  more 
than  me,  is  not  worthy  of  me.  He,  that  findeth 
his  life,  shall  lose  it ;  and  he,  that  loseth  his  life  for  my 
sake,  shall  find  it^ 

(lit.) — We  proceed  to  remark  in  the  third  place, 
that,  in  the  process  of  entire  separation  from  any 
and  every  reliance  out  of  God,  we  must  cease  to 
place  undue  confidence  in  men  generally.  It  is  a 
matter  of  common  remark,  that  the  natural  man, 
afraid  to  put  his  trust  in  God  alone,  generally  seeks 
advice  and  assistance  from  his  fellow-men;  especial- 
ly from  those,  who  are  in  some  degree  conspicuous 


272  OF  THE  EXCISION  AND  CRUCIFIXION 

for  information  and  influence.  Those  also,  who 
have  known  something  of  the  truth  and  power  of 
rehgion,  but  are  as  yet  beginners  in  the  Christian 
life,  have  not  unfrequently  erred  in  the  same  way. 
Many  times,  instead  of  looking  to  God  for  help, 
they  have  sought  assistance  from  near  Christian 
friends ;  they  have  unduly  relied  perhaps  upon 
their  public  religious  teachers  or  have  sought,  in  the 
spirit  of  distrust  towards  God,  some  other  exterior 
Source  of  consolation  and  support.  It  is  important 
to  observe,  however,  that  the  error  does  not  so  much 
consist  in  seeking  the  advice  and  support  of  men, 
which  under  certain  circumstances  we  aclcnowledge 
to  be  very  proper,  as  in  seeking  it  in  an  undue  de- 
gree and  to  the  exclusion  of  God.  Such  is  the  na- 
ture of  God,  and  such  are  our  relations  to  him,  that 
he  cannot  possibly  admit  of  a  rival  in  our  affec- 
tions. It  is  reasonable,  therefore,  that  he  should 
expect  us  in  our  troubles  to  make  our  first  applica- 
tions to  himself;  and  to  lay  our  trials  and  wants 
before  him  with  that  readiness  and  confidence, 
which  we  notice  in  little  children,  who  naturally 
seek  the  advice  and  assistance  of  their  parents, 
before  looking  to  other  sources  of  support.  And 
we  shall  always  find  this  course  safest  for  ourselves, 
as  well  as  most  pleasing  and  honorable  to  God. 

From  all  forms,  therefore,  and  from  all  degrees 
of  trust  in  men,  except  so  far  as  they  are  kept  in 
perfect  subordination  to  a  higher  and  ultimate  trust 
in  God,  there  must  be  a  separation.  We  must 
learn  the  great  lesson  of  making  God  our  helper ; 
and  not  on  particular  occasions  merely,  but  always. 


OF  THE  NATURAL  LIFE.  273 

In  the  beautiful  language  of 'the  Psalmist,  "JWy 
soul,  icait  thou  only  upon  God,  for  my  expectation  is 
from  him  !  " 

(IV.) — We  proceed  to  observe  further,  that,  in  the 
fulfilment  of  our  personal  consecration  and  in  the 
further  process  of  renunciation  and  excision,  there 
must  be  a  separation,  a  cutting  loose  from  all  re- 
liance, as  a  ground  of  merit  or  of  self-gratulation  in 
any  shape,  on  our  own  works.  It  is  undoubtedly  try- 
ing to  unsubdued  and  selfish  nature,  to  attach  no 
value,  considered  as  its  own  works,  to  what  it 
fondly  calls  its  good  deeds ;  such  as  its  outward 
morality,  its  attendance  upon  the  institutions  of 
worship,  its  study  of  the  Scriptures,  its  visits  to  the 
sick,  its  charities  to  the  poor,  and  other  things  of 
a  similar  nature.  These  things,  it  is  true,  are  all 
good  and  desirable.  We  would  not,  by  any  means, 
speak  lightly  of  them.  It  is  perhaps  difficult  to  val- 
ue them  too  highly,  if  we  ascribe  them,  as  we  ought 
to  do,  to  the  mere  favor  and  grace  of  God.  But  by 
excluding  the  influence  of  the  grace  of  God,  and 
ascribing  them  to  his  own  merit,  it  is  easy  to  see 
that  a  man  may  make  an  idol  of  his  good  Avorks, 
whatever  may  be  their  nature ;  and  that  he  may, 
in  the  perversity  of  his  spirit,  fall  down  and  wor- 
ship them.  We  must  be  willing,  therefore,  to 
account  our  good  deeds  as  nothing ;  and  to  regard 
ourselves,  when  we  have  done  all  in  our  power,  as 
unprofitable  servants ;  in  order  that  Christ  may  be 
to  us  all  in  all. 

(V.) — A  fifth  remark,  which  we  have  to  make  in 
connection  with  this  subject,  is,  that  it  is  necessary 


274  OF  THE  EXCISION  AND  CRUCIFIXION 

to  cut  off  and  crucify  the  inward  desire,  which  so 
generally  prevails,  for  the  experience  of  special  signs 
and  testimonies  of  acceptance  with  God.  There  is 
hardly  any  Christian,  who  has  not,  at  some  period 
of  his  religious  history,  experienced  some  perplexity 
in  this  respect/One  of  the  most  difficult  lessons,  which 
we  are  called  to  learn,  one  however  which  is  indis- 
pensable, if  we  would  know  the  heights  and  depths 
of  the  religious  life,  is  that  of  living  by  simple  faith,  j 
God  expects  us,  and  has  a  right  to  expect  us  to^ 
leave  ourselves  and  all  our  interests  in  his  hands, 
in  the  full  confidence,  that  he  will  do  every  thing 
which  is  right.  And  it  is  obviously  the  duty  of 
every  Christian,  to  correspond  to  this  claim  on  the 
part  of  God,  and  to  yield  himself  up,  body  and 
spirit,  in  the  bonds  of  an  everlasting  covenant :  ful- 
ly believing  that  God  will  not  desert  him,  neither 
in  duty  nor  in  temptation ;  and  whether  he  is  led 
in  light  or  in  darkness,  with  sensible  manifestations 
and  testimonies  or  without  them,  that  all  things 
will  be  well  in  the  end,  and  will  work  together  for 
his  own  good,  and  for  the  divine  glory.  But  too 
often  this  duty  is  not  regarded.  To  live  by  faith, 
to  lean  upon  the  mere  word  of  God  without  the 
supports  of  sight,  is  a  very  humbling  way  of  living ; 
and  it  is  hard  for  the  natural  man  and  even  for  the 
partially  sanctified  man  to  receive  it.  Nature,  so 
far  as  it  exists  in  the  heart,  chooses  another  meth- 
od, one  more  suited  to  itself,  but  less  glorious  to 
God.  Some  good  Christians  have  exceedingly  per- 
plexed and  injured  themselves,  for  a  considerable 
length  of  time,  by  attempting  to  maintain  the  in- 


OF  THE  NATURAL  LIFE.  275 

ward  life  on  the  erroneous  system  of  special  signs, 
tokens,  and  testimonies,  such  as  an  audible  voice, 
the  application  of  some  unknown  passage  of  Scrip- 
ture, the  occurrence  of  some  remarkable  temporal 
event,  the  possession  of  a  preconceived  and  speci- 
fied state  of  joyous  feeling,  or  something  of  the  kind, 
which,  in  their  ignorance  or  under  the  influence  of 
remaining  self-will,  are  earnestly  sought  from  God, 
as  the  pledges  and  evidences  of  their  acceptance. 
Such  a  system  of  living  has  scarcely  any  affinity, 
and  perhaps  none  at  all,  with  the  true  life  of  God 
in  the  soul.  The  Christian  life,  we  repeat;  is  em- 
phatically a  LIFE  OF  FAITH ;  but  to  cudcavor  to  live 
in  the  way,  which  has  just  been  referred  to,  is  evi- 
dently a  deviation  from  the  way  of  faith,  and  tends 
directly  to  strengthen  the  unspeakable  evil  of  dis- 
trust in  God. 

From  every  thing  of  this  kind,  therefore,  we 
must  separate  ourselves  without  hesitation,  howev- 
er painful  the  process  may  be.  In  the  spirit  of  self- 
crucifixion,  we  must  learn  the  great  lesson  of  rely- 
ing'by  simple  belief  on  the  mere  declaration  of  God. 
And  in  doing  this,  we  need  not  fear.  What  need 
has  the  principle  of  inward  faith  of  any  sign  or  tes- 
timony additional  to  itself?  Faith,  whenever  it 
is  strong  enough  to  be  a  true  light  within,  will  al- 
ways bear  its  evidence  in  its  own  nature.  It  no 
more  asks  or  requires  exterior  illumination,  than 
the  sun  in  the  heavens  asks  for  a  taper  to  learn  its 
own  illuminated  position.  "He  that  believeth  on 
the  Son  of  God,  hath  the  witness  in  himself" 

(VI.) — We  remark,  in  the  sixth  place,  that  we 


276  OF  THE  EXCISION  AND  CRUCIFIXION 

must  separate  ourselves  altogether  from  any  reli- 
ance upon  religious  feelings  of  any  kind,  consider- 
ed as  a  ground  of  hope  and  salvation.  We  know 
well,  that  there  can  be  no  religion  without  religious 
feelings.  No  man  is,  or  can  be,  a  Christian  with- 
out them.  They  are  indispensable.  But  what  we 
think  it  necessary  to  object  to  and  to  condemn,  is  a 
disposition,  which  sometimes  exists,  to  trust  in  our 
feelings,  and  to  make  a  sort  of  idol  of  them,  instead 
of  trusting  in  Christ.  A  man,  for  instance,  has 
experienced  at  a  particular  time  great  sorrow  for 
sin,  or  high  emotions  of  gratitude,  or  is  sunk  in 
depths  of  humility.  If,  at  some  time  after,  his 
mind  reverts  to  those  feelings  and  dwells  much 
upon  them ;  and  in  such  a  manner  that  he  begins 
to  place  a  degree  of  trust  and  confidence  in  them, 
instead  of  placing  his  trust  in  the  Savior,  it  must 
necessarily  be  to  his  great  injury.  It  is  not  our 
feelings,  but  Christ,  that  saves  us.  If  we  look  to  our 
feelings  for  salvation,  instead  of  looking  to  Christ, 
we  necessarily  miss  our  object.  And  in  accordance 
with  this  view,  we  sometimes  find  persons,  who 
are  continually  examining  and  reexamining  and 
poring  over  their  past  experience ;  but  who  are  gen- 
erally in  much  darkness  of  mind.  Probably,  with- 
out being  fully  aware  of  it,  they  are  secretly  look- 
ing for  something  in  the  history  of  their  past  feel- 
ings which  they  can  place  their  trust  in,  instead 
of  turning  away  from  themselves,  which  would  be 
much  better,  and  looking  directly  upward  to  a  suf- 
ficient and  present  Redeemer. 

This  distinction  is  a  real  one,  viz.  between  trust- 


OF  THE  NATURAL  LIFE.  277 

ing  in  our  feelings  and  trusting  in  the  Savior, 
though  not  very  obvious  at  first;  and  is  highly 
important  in  its  connection  with  the  religious 
hfe.  It  seems  to  me,  that  religious  feelings  are 
valuable,  and  can  be  valuable,  only  as  they  tend, 
in  their  ultimate  result,  to  unite  us  more  and  more 
closely  to  the  Divine  Mind.  I  If,  therefore,  we  are 
so  unwise  as  to  stop  and  to^rest  in  our  feelings  as  the 
ground  of  our  hope,  and  especially  if  we  take  a  de- 
gree of  complacency  in  them,  in  themselves  con- 
sidered, or  because  they  may  properly  be  regarded 
as  our  oicn  feelings,  we  not  only  stop  short  of  God, 
to  whom  they  should  lead  us ;  but  pervert  them, 
valuable  as  they  are  in  their  proper  exercise  and 
relations,  to  our  own  exceeding  detriment. 

We  come  to  the  conclusion,  therefore,  and  re- 
peat again,  that  we  should  not  place  any  reliance 
upon  our  feelings,  in  themselves  considered,  as  a 
ground  of  acceptance  with  God ;  and  also  that  we 
should  not,  in  any  point  of  view,  take  any  unduly 
interested  and  selfish  complacency  in  them.  We 
must  banish  and  crucify  this  form  of  idolatry  also, 
which  is  none  the  less  dangerous  for  being  so  inte- 
rior and  secret.  'If  we  will  turn  our  eyes  upward 
rather  than  inward,  and  give  our  hearts  and  lives 
to  God  and  his  glory  in  the  exercise  of  naked  faith, 
we  shall  soon  experience  a  divine  reaction  in  the 
soul  itself  And  shall  find,  that  God,  who  is  faith- 
ful to  his  promise,  will  abundantly  take  care  of  us 
both  without  and  within.  We  shall  then  have  both 
the  right  degree  and  the  right  kind  of  feelings.  We 
shall  have  no  idols,  but  we  shall  have  God ;  and 
24 


278  OF  THE  EXCISION  AND  CRUCIFIXION 

we  shall  have  no  feehngs  that  are  appropriate  to 
idols,  but  shall  have  the  feelings  which  are  appro- 
priate to  God.  And  in  accordance  with  this  view, 
and  in  point  of  fact,  it  will  be  found  that  of  two 
Christians,  the  one,  who  is  the  most  penitent,  the 
most  humble,  the  most  grateful,  the  most  devoted 
in  his  love,  will  think  the  least  of  those  particular 
exercises.  His  mind  will  be,  as  it  were,  out  of  him- 
self. You  will  see  him  living  religion^  and  not 
merely  talking  or  thinking  about  religion.  Such  a 
person  will  hardly  be  conscious  of  his  feelings,  con- 
sidered as  objects  of  distinct  contemplation  and 
thought :  and  will  know  them  chiefly  in  the  bles- 
sed result  of  increased  oneness  with  his  heavenly 
Father.  He  is  not  destitute  of  feeling ;  but  his  feel- 
ing is,  if  we  may  so  express  it,  not  so  much  to  trou- 
ble himself  about  feeling,  as  to  lose  himself  in  the 
will  of  God.  Another  mind,  viz.  "the  mind  of 
Christ,"  may  be  said  to  have  taken  inward  posses- 
sion ;  and  so  close  is  the  union,  which  has  now 
been  formed  between  himself  and  God,  that  he  finds 
himself  perplexed  and  at  a  loss  to  discover  the  na- 
ture and  operations  of  what  he  was  formerly  wont 
to  call  his  own  mind.  His  state  corresponds  in  a 
great  degree,  and  perhaps  precisely,  to  what  is  im- 
plied in  the  expressions  of  the  Apostle,  when  he 
says.  Gal.  2:  20.  "I  am  crucified  with  Christ; 
nevertheless  I  live ;  yet  not  I,  but  Christ  liveth 

IN    ME." 

(VII.) — We  observe  again,  it  is  necessary,  in  or- 
der to  the  full  attainment  of  what  is  designed  foir 
the  Christian,  that,  in  the  continuance  of  this  pro^ 


OF  THE  NATURAL  LIFE.  279 

cess  of  excision  and  crucifixion  he  should  cut  off 
and  crucify  the  desire  of  internal  consolations  and 
comforts.  We  do  not  mean  to  imply  in  this  re- 
mark, that  the  advanced  and  fully  established 
Christian  is  in  a  situation,  which  either  directly  or 
indirectly  is  inconsistent  with  a  full  share  of  pleas- 
urable and  happy  experience.  On  the  contrary, 
his  consolations,  especially  when  he  has  found  his 
true  centre  and  has  fully  united  his  once  wander- 
ing heart  to  the  heart  of  God,  are  tranquil,  endur- 
ing, and  substantial.  But  to  think  of  such  conso- 
lations much,  to  desire  them  much,  and  especially 
to  aim  at  them  as  an  ultimate  object,  is  the  precise 
way  to  miss  them.  I  think  it  is  very  obvious,  that 
he,  who  is  seeking  comfort  as  an  ultimate  object, 
is  not  seeking  God,  but  seeking  himself  He  is  not 
seeking  religion,  in  the  proper  sense  of  the  term ; 
but  he  is  seeking  just  what  he  professes  to  seek, 
viz.  comjort.  Such  seeking  is  in  vain.  There  is 
but  one  ultimate  object,  at  which,  as  those  who 
wish  to  know  the  heights  and  depths  of  religion, 
we  can  safely  aim,  viz.  God  himself;  or  what  may 
be  considered  as  essentially  the  same  thing,  a  sym- 
pathy of  our  whole  being  with  the  holy  will  of 
God. 

It  will  be  understood  here,  that  we  have  not  ref- 
erence in  these  remarks  to  temporal  or  worldly  con- 
solations, so  much  as  to  those  which  are  internal 
and  spiritual.  Nor  do  we  mean  to  say,  that  to  de- 
sire spiritual  consolations  and  comforts  is  wrong. 
But  what  we  mean  to  assert  is,  that  we  cannot  de- 
sire them  and  seek  them,  out  of  the  will  of  God  and 


280  OF  THE  EXCISION  AND  CRUCIFIXION 

as  ultimate  objects,  consistently  with  the  highest  attain^ 
ments  in  the  divine  life.  To  seek  them  in  the  way 
they  are  commonly  sought  is  evidently  to  nourish 
the  natural  life  or  the  life  of  self,  which  it  is  the 
object  of  true  religion  to  destroy.  The  question 
was  once  put  to  a  pious  person,  'whether  she  en- 
joyed herself.'  Her  answer  was  to  this  effect,  that 
she  could  not  speak  positively  and  promptly  in 
regard  to  herself,  because  she  endeavored  to  forget 
self,  but  she  enjoyed  God.  The  reply  evidently  in- 
volved a  great  principle  in  religion.  No  one  can 
enter  into  the  true  rest  of  the  soul,  in  whom  the 
principle  of  self-love  exists  in  any  degree,  inconsis- 
tent with  lovmg  God  with  the  whole  heart.  "Oh, 
my  God,"  says  the  pious  Lady  Maxwell,  "hear 
the  cries  of  one  on  whom  Thou  hast  had  mercy, 
and  prepare  my  heart  to  receive  whatever  Christ 
has  purchased  for  me.  Allow  me  not  to  rest  short 
of  it.  Put  thou  a  thorn  in  every  enjoyment,  a  worm 
in  every  gourd,  that  would  either  prevent  my  being  whol- 
ly thine,  or  in  any  measure  retard  my  progress  in  the  di- 
vine life.''''* 

(VIII.) — Again,  if  we  would  be  what  the  Lord 
would  have  us  to  be,  we  must  be  willing,  in  the 
spirit  of  inward  crucifixion,  to  renoimce  and  reject 
all  other  natural  desires,  and  all  our  own  purposes 
and  aims.  AVe  do  not  mean  to  imply  in  this  re- 
mark, that  we  must  be  so  far  lost  to  feeling  and 
action  as  to  be  absolutely  without  all  desires,  pur- 
poses, and  aims,  whatever ;  but  that  there  must  be 
a  crucifixion  and  excision  of  all  desires  and  pur- 

*  Life  of  Lady  MaxweU,  Chap.  IV. 


OF  THE  NATURAL  LIFE.  281 

poses,  which  spring  from  the  life  of  nature^  and  not 
from  the  Spirit  of  God.  In  other  words,  it  is  our  du- 
ty, as  those  who  would  glorify  God  in  all  things, 
to  check  every  natural  desire  and  to  delay  every 
contemplated  plan  of  action,  until  we  can  learn 
the  will  of  God,  and  put  ourselves  under  a  divine 
guidance.  Every  desire  must  so  far  lose  its  natu- 
ral character  as  to  become  spiritually  baptized  and 
sanctified,  before  it  can  be  acceptaore  fo  ,God ;  and 
every  plan  of  action  also  must,  in  like  manner,  have 
a  divine  origin. 

This  principle,  in  the  doctrines  of  holy  living,  goes 
very  far  and  strikes  deep.  The  desire  of  knowl- 
edge, for  instance,  is  generally  considered  a  very 
imiocent  one.  But  whenever  it  becomes  so  strong 
as  to  disquiet  the  inward  nature,  and  thus  to  perplex 
our  intercourse  with  God,  it  is  obviously  wrong.  It 
ought  always,  therefore,  to  be  subject  to  a  divine 
teaching ;  and  to  be  merged  and  lost,  as  it  were, 
like  all  the  other  natural  desires,  in  the  supreme 
desire  for  God's  glory ;  a  desire,  which  evidently  is 
not  the  product  of  nature,  but  which  can  come 
from  the  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Ghost  alone. 

It  is  a  very  proper  remark  to  be  made  also  in  this 
connection,  that  our  most  intimate  friendships, 
which  involve  more  or  less  of  desire  and  generally 
strong  desire,  must  be  crucified.  We  are  not  at 
liberty  to  make  an  idol  of  our  friends,  however  ex- 
cellent their  characters  or  however  closely  united 
by  natural  ties.  Such  inordinate  friendships  stand 
between  the  soul  and  God,  and  hinder  it  from 
reaching  its  true  centre ;  and  we  do  not  see,  how 
24* 


282  OF  THE  EXCISION  AND  CRUCIFIXION 

they  can  be  regarded  in  the  divine  sight  as  better 
than  any  other  forms  of  idolatry.  Even  if  those 
friends  are  eminent  christians,  so  much  so  as  to  bear 
the  very  image  and  likeness  of  the  Savior  himself, 
we  cannot  let  our  affections  centre  upon  them  so  as 
to  make  them  the  place  of  the  soul's  rest,  without 
causing  injury  and  offence  to  God. 

To  sum  up  all,  which  is  to  be  said  here,  in  a  few 
words,  we^  iitiaf  probably  assert  correctly,  that  we 
are  not  to  desire  anything  whatever  out  of  the  will 
of  God.  In  other  words,  if  we  find  a  preference  or 
choice  in  ourselves,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  lead  us 
to  desire  one  thing  rather  than  another  irrespective 
of  the  will  of  God,  we  may  justly  conclude,  that 
the  state  of  mind,  of  which  we  are  then  the  subjects, 
is  a  selfish  and  natural  state, and  not  a  truly  religious 
and  divine  state.  It  is,  therefore,  to  be  rejected  ; 
and  the  mind  is  to  remain  without  desire,  until  the 
will  of  God  can  be  revealed  and  take  effect  in  us. 

Finally. — We  might  pursue  this  important  sub- 
ject much  farther.  The  principle  is,  that  we 
must  cut  loose  from  every  thing,  which  is  not  God; 
and  as  soon  as  possible.  The  principle  belongs 
equally  to  all  persons,  and  each  ought  to  apply  it 
for  himself  to  his  own  idols. — We  leave  the  subject, 
therefore,  with  remarking  in  the  last  place,  if  we 
would  reach  the  highest  results  in  religion,  we 
must  be  willing,  not  only  to  suffer  a  separation 
from  all  present  possessions  and  pleasures  both  of 
body  and  mind,  in  subordination  to  the  will  of  God, 
but  must  be  willing  to  leave  our  eternal  interests 
entirely  and  quietly  in  his  hands.     It  is  true,  God 


OF  THE  NATURAL  LIFE.  283 

does  not  require  and  does  not  expect  us  to  be  wil- 
ling, in  the  absolute  and  unconditional  sense,  to  be 
cast  off.  Nevertheless,  in  point  of  fact,  if  God 
should  see  fit  to  do  it,  we  ought  willingly  to  sub- 
mit to  it,  and  to  glorify  his  name  in  it.  Because 
he  could  not  do  it  without  doing  what  is  right; 
and  to  wish  or  expect  him  to  do  otherwise  than 
right,  would  be  to  expect  and  desire  him  to  tarnish 
his  own  character,  to  staiii  de'eply  and*rrretrievably 
his  own  spotless  nature.  This  no  one  can  possibly 
do,  who  loves  God  with  a  perfect  heart.  The  lan- 
guage of  such  an  one  is,  'Let  me  rather  perish  a 
thousand  times  and  God  be  holy,  than  saved  a 
thousand  times  and  God  be  unholy  ] '  Indeed  he 
knows  no  salvation,  and  no  possibility  of  salvation, 
but  in  the  love  of  God's  holiness.  It  is  that,  which 
occupies  his  thought ;  it  is  that,  which  fills,  di- 
lates, and  energizes  the  soul  with  the  elements  and 
the  only  elements  of  substantial  bliss. 

It  will  be  noticed,  that  this  is  said  hypothetical- 
ly  or  by  way  of  supposition.  But  we  ought  to 
add,  that,  in  point  of  fact,  it  is  impossible  for  a 
soul,  that  is  lost  to  itself,  to  be  lost  to  happiness. 
Its  extinction  to  self  is  necessarily  a  resurrection  to 
holiness.  The  death  of  self  is  the  life  of  God.  Now 
it  is  of  the  nature  of  a  self-evident  truth,  that  holi- 
ness cannot  be  indifferent  to  holiness,  whereever 
and  in  whomsoever  it  may  be  found.  And  hence 
it  is  impossible  for  a  holy  God  to  cast  off  or  to  treat 
with  unkindness  any  being  that  is  holy.  To  be 
holy  is  necessarily  to  be  saved.  The  holy  are  by 
their  very  nature  one  with  God ;  they  are  bound 


284  OF  THE  EXCISION  AND  CRUCIFIXION 

to  him  by  an  adamantine  chain ;  and  it  is  no  more 
possible  for  a  holy  person  to  be  lost,  than  it  is  for 
God  to  be  lost.  And  yet  when  the  matter  is  hypo- 
thetically  presented  to  the  mind  by  the  Holy  Spirit, 
as  it  seems  not  unfrequently  to  be  in  the  later  and 
higher  periods  of  christian  experience,  we  mnst  be 
willing  to  resign  all  promptly  and  cheerfully  into 
God's  hands,  whatever  it  may  be. 

We  wonld  add  here,  that,  when  a  person  has 
gone  through  the  process  of  inward  crucifixion  in 
its  entire  length  and  breadth,  the  great  spiritual  re- 
sult is  the  complete  extinction  of  all  selfishness 
and  of  all  self-will;  a  result  brought  about  by 
means  of  an  entire  and  unchangeable  consecration, 
attended  by  the  inwardly  operating  and  searching 
influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit ;  a  result,  which  in  the 
end  is  so  minutely  explorative,  so  thoroughly  de- 
structive of  those  inward  influences  which  obstruct 
the  presence  of  God  in  the  soul,  and  withal  so  painful 
oftentimes,  that  it  may  well  be  termed  the  baptism  of 
FIRE.  It  is  by  means  of  such  a  process  of  inward 
crucifixion,  that  the  natural  life  dies ;  and  the  way 
is  thus  prepared  for  the  true  resurrection  and  life  of 
Christ  in  the  soul. 

(1.) — In  connection  with  the  subject,  we  would 
make  a  few  remarks,  which  seem  naturally  to  flow 
out  of  it.  And  in  the  first  place,  some  will  say 
perhaps,  that  this  doctrine,  if  true,  is  discouraging; 
that  they  have  not  gone  through  this  process  of  in- 
ward crucifixion  ;  and  therefore  are  not  christians. 
But  we  answer,  such  an  inference  would  be  a  hasty 
one.     But  I  think  we  may  say  this  also.     If  such 


OF  THE  NATURAL  LIFE.  285 

persons  are  really  christians,  they  are  now  going 
through  this  process.  The  little  leaven  is  at  work, 
which  will  ultimately  aifect  the  whole  lump.  God 
is  showing  them  their  idols  and  slaying  them  one 
after  another,  in  order  that  he  himself  may  enter 
and  occupy  their  place.  We  must  not  think  to  go 
to  heaven,  and  at  the  same  time  carry  the  natural 
life  with  us.  It  must  be  slain,  and  wholly  slain, 
sooner  or  later. 

(2.) — We  remark  again  in  connection  with  this 
subject,  that  in  some  persons,  though  not  in  many, 
the  natural  man,  in  the  comparative  sense  of  the 
terms,  dies  easily.  These  persons,  these  chosen 
ones  of  the  Lord,  seem  to  have  an  intuitive  appre- 
ciation of  what  God  justly  and  necessarily  requires. 
They  see  with  the  clearness  of  light,  that  it  is  im- 
possible at  the  same  time  to  serve  God  and  Mam- 
mon. Accordingly  they  submit  themselves  to  the 
leadings  and  the  power  of  God  without  resistance. 
They  yield  readily  and  willingly,  like  the  lamb 
that  is  led  to  the  slaughter  ;  and  the  result  is,  that 
the  inward  crucifixion,  though  not  less  deep  and 
thorough,  is  personally  less  afflictive.  The  Holy 
Spirit  proceeds  gently  but  constantly  in  his  opera- 
tions; unbinding  every  tie  of  nature;  cutting  loose 
every  ligament  which  fastens  the  soul  to  the  world  ; 
until  it  soars  away  in  its  liberty,  and  rejoices,  even 
while  here  on  earth,  in  the  bosom  of  its  God. 
~  (3.) — Other  persons,  and  we  may  add,  the  great 
majority  of  persons,  are  not  brought  to  this  state  of 
freedom  from  the  world  and  of  union  with  God, 
without  passing  through  exceeding  afflictions,  both 


286  OF  THE  EXCISION  AND  CRUCIFIXION 

external  and  internal.  And  this  happens  partly 
through  ignorance,  and  partly  and  more  general- 
ly through  SELF-WILL.  They  are  slow  to  learn 
what  is  to  be  done  ;  and  equally  reluctant  to  sub- 
mit to  its  being  done.  God  desires  and  intends, 
that  they  shall  be  his ;  but  the  hour  of  their  in- 
ward redemption  not  being  fully  come,  they  still 
love  the  world.  They  attach  their  affections  first 
to  one  object,  and  then  to  another.  They  would 
perhaps  be  pleased  to  have  God  for  their  portion; 
but  they  must  have  something  besides  God.  In 
other  words,  they  vainly  imagine  that  they  would 
like  to  have  God  and  their  idols  at  the  same  time. 
And  there  they  remain  for  a  time,  fixed,  obstinate, 
inflexible.  But  God  loves  them.  Therefore,  as 
they  will  not  learn  by  kindness,  they  must  learn  by 
terror.  The  sword  of  Providence  and  the  Spirit  is 
applied  successively  to  every  tie,  that  binds  them 
to  the  world.  Their  property,  their  health,  their 
friends  all  fall  before  it.  The  inward  fabric  of 
hopes  and  joys,  where  self-love  was  nourished  and 
pride  had  its  nest,  is  levelled  to  the  dust.  They 
are  smitten  within  and  without ;  burnt  Avith  fire ; 
overwhelmed  with  the  waters  ;  peeled  and  scathed 
and  blasted  to  the  very  extremity  of  endurance ; 
till  they  learn,  in  this  dreadful  Baptism,  the  incon- 
sistency of  the  attempted  worship  and  love  of  God 
and  IMammon  at  the  same  time ;  and  are  led  to  see, 
that  God  is  and  ought  to  be,  the  true  and  only 
sovereign. 

(4.) — But  some  will  say  perhaps,  we  are  thus 
left  alone ;  we  are  stripped  of  every  thing  which 


OF  THE  NATURAL  LIFE.  287 

once  gjnre  us  pleasure ;"  we  are  reduced  to  a  state 
of  mere  desolation  and  nothingness.  And  we  may- 
add,  if  such  be  really  the  result,  that  nothing  could 
be  more  desirable.  But  it  is  necessary  to  make 
distinctions  here.  We  are  not  reduced  to  an  abso- 
lute nothingness ;  a  nothingness  of  existence,  of 
identity,  and  of  personal  capability ;  but  to  a  noth- 
ingness of  SELF  and  of  the  corrupt  life  of  nature. 
The  natural  life  is  taken  away  ;  and  it  is  true  also, 
that  every  idol  is  taken  away,  to  which  the  life  of 
nature  clung  for  its  support.  But  there  is  this  con- 
solation, that  whatever  of  true  value,  external  to 
the  soul  itself,  is  taken  away  in  accomplishing  the 
death  of  nature,  is  abundantly  restored  again,  and 
is  deprived  too  of  all  hurtful  power,  in  the  subse- 
quent experience  of  the  reviving  life  of  God.  We 
find  that  all,  which  is  necessary,  is  given  back  to 
us  in  the  day  of  our  inward  restoration  ;  and  for 
the  most  part  increased  an  hundred  fold.  But  we 
have  been  taught  a  lesson,  which  it  is  impossible 
to  forget.  We  have  ceased  to  be  idolaters.  We 
henceforth  love  the  gifts  of  God  in  their  source 
more  than  in  their  termination,  and  not  so  much 
for  ourselves,  as  for  the  sake  of  the  Giver. 

(5.) — And  this  brings  us  to  our  concluding  re- 
mark, that  from  the  death  of  nature  springs  a  new 
life,  altogether  different  from  that  which  is  cruci- 
fied and  dead  ;  a  life  born  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  and 
bearing  the  image  of  the  Savior.  Just  so  far,  then, 
as  the  old  nature  has  experienced  a  crucifixion, 
and  a  new  nature  has  taken  its  place,  we  are  the 
subjects  of  a  spiritual  resurrection  in  Christ.     We 


28S       OF  THE  CRUCIFIXION  OF  THE  NATURAL  LIFE. 

are  dead,  and  we  are  alive  again ;  deadPto  the 
world  and  alive  to  God.  "If  ye  then  be  risen  with 
Christ,"  says  the  Apostle,  Colos.  3 :  1-3,  "seek  those 
things  which  are  above,  where  Christ  sitteth  on 
the  right  hand  of  God.  Set  your  affections  on 
things  above,  and  not  on  things  on  the  earth.  For  ye 
are  dead,  and  your  life  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God." 

And  now  in  the  experience  of  the  divinely  reno- 
vated life,  the  soul,  that  is  the  subject  of  it,  goes 
forth,  not  with  the  marks  of  external  observation, 
but  attended  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  with  power. 
Such  an  one  has  nothing  in  himself.  Self  is 
taken  away.  But  he  has  all  things  in  God.  At 
this  point  commences  the  true  Apostolic  life.  Such 
an  one  is  a  true  messenger,  set  apart  to  labor  for 
God  and  to  win  souls ;  not  by  human  eloquence 
and  not  by  the  display  of  worldly  pomp ;  but  by 
the  simplicity  of  holy  living  and  by  the  word  of 
power  uttered  in  faith. 


If  Ihou,  Oh  God,  wilt  make  my  spirit  free, 
Then  will  that  darkened  soul  be  free  indeed  j 
I  cannot  break  my  bonds  apart  from  thee  ; 
Without  thy  help  I  bow  and  serve  and  bleed. 
Arise,  oh  Lord,  and  in  thy  matchless  strength, 
Asunder  rend  the  links  my  heart  that  bind, 
And  liberate  and  raise  and  save,  at  length, 
My  long  enthralled  and  subjugated  mind. 


% 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-SEVENTH. 


Of  the  new  life  in  the  image  of  Christ. 


["Therefore,  if  any  man  be  in  Christ,  he  is  a  new  creature.  Old 
things  are  passed  away.  Behold,  all  things  are  become  new." 
2d  Cor.  5  :  17.  "For  even  hereunto  were  ye  called ;  because 
Christ  also  suffered  for  us,  leaving  us  an  example,  that  ye  should 
follow  his  steps."  1st  Pet.  2  :  21.] 

The  old  life  perishes,  in  order  that  there  may  be 
a  new  creation  in  Christ.  The  deformity  of  the 
ancient  nature  passes  away,  and  the  image  of 
Christ  in  the  soul  takes  its  place.  And  we  can 
try  and  be  assured  of  the  truth  of  the  resurrection 
from  the  death  of  sin,  only  by  its  likeness  to  the 
life  of  the  Savior.  It  is  a  matter  of  great  gratitude, 
therefore,  that  the  Gospel  not  only  delineates  holi- 
ness, which  is  but  another  name  for  the  true  in- 
ward life,  by  means  of  abstract  statements ;  but 
represents  it  visibly  and  sensibly  in  the  beautiful 
mirror  of  the  Savior's  personal  history.  This  is  a 
mirror,  which  it  is  necessary  for  every  Christian, 
and  especially  for  those  who  are  earnestly  seeking 
the  entire  sanctificationof  the  heart,  to  contemplate 
prayerfully  and  unceasingly.  The  more  we  study 
the  life  of  Christ,  if  we  do  it  with  a  consecrated 
and  prayerful  -^  spirit,  the  more  it  is  reasonable  to 
35 


290  OF  THE  NEW  LIFE  IN 

suppose  we  shall  be  like  him.  And  in  proportion 
as  we  bear  his  likeness,  will  those  various  imper- 
fections and  inconsistencies,  which  often  mar  the 
lives  of  his  followers,  disappear.-i-We  propose, 
therefore,  in  the  present  Chapter  toonention  briefly 
some  of  the  traits  of  character,  which  are  conspicu- 
ous in  the  life  of  our  Savior ;  and  which  present 
themselves  particularly  to  our  notice  and  observa- 
tion ;  beginning  with  those,  which,  in  consequence 
of  their  close  alliance  with  the  constitution  of  hu- 
man nature,  seem  to  have  a  natural  as  well  as 
a  religious  character. 

(I.) — And  accordingly  we  proceed  to  remark,  in 
the  first  place,  that  the  Savior,  considered  m  his 
human  nature,  was  a  man  of  sympathy.  And  in 
makuig  this  remark,  we  mean  to  imply,  that  he 
was  a  man  of  sympathy  on  natural  as  well  as  on 
religious  principles ;  sympathetic  as  a  man,  as  well 
as  sympathetic  as  a  religious  man.  And  as  such,  it  is 
very  obvious  from  the  Scriptures,  that  he  felt  a 
deep  interest  in  all  those,  who  are  the  proper  ob- 
jects both  of  natural  and  religious  sympathy ;  for 
the  sick,  for  the  poor,  the  ignorant,  the  tempted, 
the  suflfering  of  all  classes  and  conditions.  Al- 
though he  loved  religious  retirement,  and  knew 
more  than  any  one  else  the  inestimable  privilege  of 
being  alone  with  God,  he  felt  deeply  the  claims  of 
a  common  humanity ;  and  in  obedience  to  those 
claims  came  forth,  and  lived,  and  suffered  among 
men ;  weeping  with  those  who  wept  and  rejoicing 
with  those  who  rejoiced.  He  gave  no  counten- 
ance to  an  exclusively  solitary  religion ;  a  religion, 


THE  IMAGE  OF  CHRIST.  291 

which  under  the  name  of  meditation  and  prayer, 
shuts  itself  up  in  barren  insulation,  and  has  no 
deep  and  operative  sympathy  with  men.  Where 
there  were  wounds  to  be  healed,  whether  mentally 
or  bodily  ;  where  there  were  tears  to  be  dried  up  ; 
whenever  and  wherever  he  could  add  to  the  amount 
of  human  happiness  or  detract  from  the  sum  of  hu- 
man misery,  he  was  present. 

He  deeply  sympathized  with  those,  who  are  the 
subjects  of  religious  trials  and  duties ;  especially 
with  the  beginners  in  the  divine  life,  with  the 
weak  ones  and  lambs  of  his  flock.  Accordingly 
he  adapted  his  instructions  to  their  capacity  of  un- 
derstanding ;  and  also  to  their  present  degree  of 
advancement  and  strength  of  purpose.  And  hence 
it  is,  that,  on  a  certain  occasion  after  having  made 
some  communications  to  his  Disciples,  he  added, 
"I  have  yet  many  things  to  say  unto  you,  but  ye 
cannot  hear  them  now."  It  is  expressly  said,  in  allu- 
sion to  this  interesting  trait  of  his  character;  "a 
bruised  reed  he  shall  not  break,  and  smoking  flax 
he  shall  not  quench." 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  add,  that  those,  who, 
in  experiencing  the  inward  restoration,  have  been 
raised  anew  in  the  image  of  Christ's  likeness,  will 
exhibit  this  interesting  trait  in  a  marked  degree. 
There  can  be  no  such  thing  as  a  truly  holy  heart, 
which  is  destitute  of  a  pure  and  deep  sympathy. 

(II.) — We  may  mention,  in  the  second  place,  as 
a  trait  somewhat  closely  allied  to  that,  which  has 
just  been  specified,  that  the  Savior  was  susceptible 
of,  and  that  he  actually  formed,  to  some  extent, 


292  OF  THE  NEW  LIFE  IN 

PERSONAL  FRIENDSHIPS    AND  INTIMACIES.       It  WOllld   be 

unreasonable  to  doubt,  that  he  had  a  sincere  affec- 
tion, analogous  probably  in  its  nature  to  the  filial 
and  fraternal  affections  in  other  cases,  to  his 
mother,  his  reputed  father,  and  his  brethren  and 
sisters  after  the  flesh.  Certainly  we  have  an  ev- 
idence of  this  declaration  in  part,  not  only  in  the 
fact  of  his  dwelling  so  long  with  them  as  he 
did ;  but  in  the  circumstance  that,  when  he  was 
suspended  in  the  agonies  of  the  Cross,  he  commen- 
ded his  mother  to  the  care  of  the  disciple  John.  It 
would  hardly  be  consistent  with  the  doctrine  of 
his  humanity,  and  would  certainly  be  at  variance 
with  the  many  developments  of  his  life  as  the 
''son  of  man,"  to  suppose,  that  he  did  not  form  a 
strong,  personal  attachment  to  the  little  company 
of  his  disciples.  It  is  said  expressly  in  especial  ref- 
erence to  his  disciples,  "having  loved  his  own, 
which  were  in  the  world,  he  loved  them  to  the  end.^^ 
It  is  also  explicitly  narrated,  that  he  loved  Mary, 
and  Martha,  and  Lazarus,  the  favored  family  of 
Bethany,  whom  he  often  visited.  The  disciple 
John,  in  particular,  is  characterized  as  the  disciple, 
whom  Jesus  loved.  As  he  was  set  before  us  as  an 
example,  that  we  should  follow  him,  this  interest- 
ing trait,  which  resulted  in  the  formation  of  friend- 
ly and  affectionate  intimacies,  is  what  we  should 
naturally  expect  to  find  in  him. And  further- 
more, as  one,  who  came  to  suffer,  as  well  as  to  act, 
as  a  "man  of  sorrows  and  acquainted  with  grief," 
had  he  not  some  need  even  of  human  sympathy  1 
And  if  this  suggestion  be  well  founded,  where 


THE  IMAGE  OF  CHRIST. 


293 


■would  he  be  disposed  to  look  for  the  consolations, 
which  even  the  sympathy  of  men  is  capable  of  af- 
fording, except  in  the  bosoms  of  those,  whom  he 
loved  peculiarly  and  confidentially  1 

In  connection  with  what  has  been  said  in  rela- 
tion to  this  interesting  trait  in  the  Savior,  we  may 
remark  here,  that  nature  teaches  us,  or  rather  the 
God  of  nature,  that  increased  and  special  love,  oth- 
er things  being  equal,  may  properly  flow  in  the 
the  channel  of  the  domestic  aflections.  And  also 
that  it  is  entirely  consistent  with  holiness,  and  not 
only  consistent  but  a  duty,  to  exercise  special  love 
towards  those,  whether  we  are  naturally  related 
to  them  or  not,  with  whom  we  are  intimately  con- 
nected in  life,  and  whose  characters  are  truly  love- 
ly. 

As  Christians,  therefore,  as  those  who  have  ex- 
perienced or  who  aim  at  experiencing  the  sanctify- 
ing graces  of  the  Spirit,  we  may  regard  ourselves  as 
permitted,  both  on  natural  principles  and  in  imita- 
tion of  the  Savior,  to  form  such  personal  friend- 
ships and  attachments  as  the  Providence  of  God 
may  favor  and  his  holiness  approve.  Intimacies 
and  friendships,  formed  on  purely  worldly  princi- 
ples, have  no  religious  value ;  and  are  often  positive- 
lyevil.  It  is  important,  therefore,  to  remember,  that 
all  such  friendships  should  be  entirely  subordina- 
ted, as  they  were  in  the  case  of  the  Savior,  to  the 
will  of  our  heavenly  Father.  If,  through  the  influ- 
ence of  the  life  of  nature,  they  become  inordinate, 
they  are  no  better  than  any  other  idols.  It  is  cer- 
tain there  is  much  in  them  that  is  amiable  and 
25* 


294  OF  THE  NEW  LIFE  IN 

pleasant,  that  they  are  authorized  by  the  example 
of  the  Savior,  and  that  they  seem  to  be  even  ne- 
cessary in  our  present  situation;  but  like  every 
thing  else  they  must  receive  the  signature  of  the 
divine  approbation,  and  must  be  sustained  or  aban- 
doned at  the  call  of  religious  duty. 

(III.) — A  third  remark  is,  that  the  Savior  exhib- 
ited and  valued  intellectual  culture.  We  do  not 
perceive  that  he  at  any  time  showed  a  disposition, 
to  separate  religion  from  rationality.  Even  in  ear- 
ly youth  he  exhibited  a  strong  desire  of  knowledge. 
It  is  related  of  him  at  the  early  period  of  twelve 
years  of  age,  that  he  was  found  in  the  Temple, 
sitting  in  the  midst  of  the  Jewish  religious  teachers, 
"  both  hearing  them,  and  asking  them  questions. 
And  all,  that  heard  him,  were  astonished  at  his  un- 
derstanding and  answers."  He  knew  very  well, 
that  religion  must  have  a  basis  in  the  perceptions ; 
and  that  its  existence,  without  some  degree  of 
knowledge  and  reflection,  is  a  natural  impossibili- 
ty. He  knew  also,  that  religion  cannot  be  spread 
abroad  from  heart  to  heart,  so  as  to  take  root  to 
any  great  extent  and  become  effective  in  those  who 
are  ignorant  of  it,  except  by  means  of  the  truth. 
And  accordingly  he  improved  his  early  opportuni- 
ties of  knowing ;  and  while  he  grew  in  stature  and 
in  favor  with  God  and  with  man,  it  is  stated  also, 
that  he  "grew  strong  in  spirit,"  and  that  "he  in- 
creased in  wisdom."  In  particular,  he  seems  to 
have  nourished  and  strengthened  himself  intellect- 
ually by  the  faithful  study  of  the  divine  lessons  of 
the  Old  Testament.     His  repeated  public  instruc- 


THE  IMAGE  OF  CHRIST.  295 

tions  in  the  Synagogues  are  a  proof  of  his  intimate 
knowledge  of  the  Scriptures.  In  all  his  personal 
and  private  intercourse  also,  even  on  occasions, 
which  were  calculated  to  agitate  and  afflict  him, 
he  was  calmly  deliberate,  reflective,  and  argumen- 
tative. In  his  interviews  with  his  disciples,  in  his 
conversations  with  publicans  and  sinners,  in  his 
controversies  with  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees,  and 
on  all  similar  occasions,  it  is  very  evident,  that  he 
acted  not  by  passion,  but  by  sober  judgment;  not 
by  impulses  but  in  a  truly  reflective  and  rational 
manner ;  meeting  argument  with  argument ;  op- 
posing scripture  to  scripture  as  one  who  knew  how 
to  wield  the  "sword  of  the  Spirit;"  and  subverting 
sophistry  with  the  well  considered  and  appropriate 
responses  of  truth. 

It  is  true,  that  his  illustrations  and  manner  va- 
ried with  the  circumstances  and  the  occasion,  and 
that  he  was  at  certain  times  more  animated,  point- 
ed, and  severe  than  at  others  ;  but  he  never  did  or 
said  anything,  which  was  at  variance  with  sound 
judgment.  I  have  sometimes  thought,  that  persons 
of  flighty  conceptions  and  vigorous  enthusiasm 
would  regard  the  Savior,  if  he  were  now  on  the 
earth,  as  too  calm  and  gentle,  as  too  thoughtful 
and  intellectual,  as  too  free  from  impulsive  and  ex- 
cited agitations,  to  be  reckoned  with  those,  who 
are  often  considered  the  most  advanced  in  religion. 
He  never  performed  the  feat  of  Simeon  Stylites, 
who,  from  mistaken  religious  motives,  spent  years 
on  the  top  of  a  pillar  of  stone;  nor  was  he  violently 
whirled  round  like  a  top ;  nor  did  he  experience 
the  other  bodily  and  convulsive  agitations,  which 


296  OP  THE  NEW  LIFE  IN 

in  some  instances  have  characterized  the  rehgious 
movements  of  modern  times,  and  have  sometimes 
been  mistaken  for  religion  itself.  In  violation  of 
the  proud  anticipations  of  the  Jews,  and  in  con- 
formity with  what  might  be  expected  from  a  being 
endued  with  the  highest  rationality,  he  appeared 
as  a  plain,  unobtrusive,  and  reflective  man; 
coming  and  acting  like  the  "  kingdom  of  God  "  it- 
self, essentially  "  without  observation  ;  "  and  at- 
tracting notice,  so  far  as  he  did  so,  by  pure  and  so- 
ber piety  only,  by  the  beauty  of  virtue  sustained 
and  characterized  by  the  strength  of  deliberation 
and  wisdom,  and  not  by  being  the  subject  or  the 
agent  of  eccentricities. 

In  making  these  remarks  we  do  not  mean  to  im- 
ply, that  the  Savior  was  without  feeling.  His 
sympathy  with  the  sick  and  the  poor,  his  personal 
attachments,  his  earnest  desire  for  the  salvation  of 
sinners,  his  denunciations  of  hardened  transgres- 
sors, all  show,  that  he  was  susceptible  of  deep 
feeling.  But  what  we  mean  to  say  is,  that  he  did 
not  undervalue  knowledge  and  truth.  But  on  the 
contrary,  he  estimated  them  highly,  and  under  the 
teachings  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  made  them,  as  it 
were,  the  basis  of  the  inward  life.  And  I  think  we 
may  properly  add  here,  as  in  accordance  with 
what  has  been  said,  that  no  feeling,  that  no  contri- 
tion or  sorrow,  and  no  other  form  of  feeling  what- 
ever, does,  or  can  possess  any  religious  value  in 
the  sight  of  God,  except  so  far  as  it  has  its  origin 
in  perception  and  knowledge. 

(IV.) — Passing  now  from  what  may  be  deemed 


THE  IMAGE  OF  CHRIST.  297 

his  natural,  to  his  purely  religious  traits,  we  remark, 
in  the  fourth  place,  that  the  life  of  the  Savior  was 
characterized  by  the  spirit  of  entire  consecration. 
The  idea  of  consecration  seems  to  be  much  the 
same  with  that  of  self-renunciation ;  with  this  dif- 
ference only,  that  he,  who  is  the  subject  of  conse- 
cration, has  not  only  renounced  himself,  but  has 
done  it  in  favor  of  some  other  object,  or  some  other 
being.  Accordingly  he,  who,  in  renouncing  him- 
self, has  renounced  all  his  own  private  desires,  pur- 
poses, and  aims,  and  has  surrendered  his  will, 
which,  in  some  sense,  constitutes  himself,  into  the 
keeping  of  the  divine  will,  is  emphatically  a  person 
consecrated  to  the  divine  will;  or  what  is  the  same 
thing,  he  is  a  person  consecrated  to  God.  Now  it 
is  very  evident,  that  the  Savior,  considered  in  his 
humanity,  and  as  a  messenger  of  God  here  in  the 
world,  had  no  will  of  his  own.  If  he  cannot  be 
said,  properly  speaking,  to  have  renounced  his  will, 
it  is  because  he  never  possessed  a  will,  which  ope- 
rated at  variance  with  the  infinite  and  divine  will. 
It  was  not  on  his  own  accomit,  that  he  came  into 
the  world.  "Wist  ye  not"  he  says  on  a  certam  oc- 
casion, "that  I  must  be  about  my  Father's  busi- 
ness?" "I  came  down  from  heaven,"  he  says  in 
another  place,  "not  to  do  mme  own  will,  but  the 
will  of  Him,  that  sent  me."  John,  6 :  38.  And 
again  he  says,  "my  meat  is  to  do  the  will  of  him 
that  sent  me,  and  to  finish  his  work."  John  4  :  34. 
There  are  many  other  passages  of  a  similar  im- 
port. And  the  whole  history  of  his  life,  which  is 
unstained  by  any  selfish  and  personal  purpose,  con- 


298  OF  THE  NEAV  LIFE  IN 

stitutes  a  confirmation  of  them.  He  could  say,  "I 
and  my  Father  are  one,"  because  his  Avhole  soul 
lay,  as  it  were,  upon  the  divine  altar ;  set  apart 
both  to  do  and  to  suffer  his  Father's  will,  "brought 
as  a  lamb  to  the  slaughter,"  "slain  from  the  found- 
ation of  the  world,"  "offered  up  to  bear  the  sins  of 
many." 

It  it  is  the  same  spirit  of  devout  and  entire  con- 
secration, which  is  the  abiding  and  in  its  results  the 
victorious  element  of  the  religious  life  in  all  his  fol- 
lowers. And  it  is  so,  because,  by  the  alienation  of 
self,  it  puts  them  in  a  situation,  where  they  can 
take  hold  of  the  divine  power  by  faith.  Those, 
who  have  made  such  consecration,  feel  that  they 
have  no  longer  any  thing,  which  they  can  call  their 
own.  In  every  thing,  which  concerns  their  per- 
sonal desires  and  interests ;  in  every  thing,  which 
is  at  variance  with  the  divine  purposes,  they  are 
nailed  to  the  Cross.  And  hence,  in  the  want  of  all 
things  in  themselves,  they  have  the  possession  of 
all  things  in  God. 

(V) — Again,  the  Savior,  considered  as  a  man, 
lived  by  simple  faith. — A  life  of  faith  is  almost 
necessarily  implied  in  a  state  of  entire  self-renunci- 
ation. It  does  not  easily  appear,  how  a  person, 
who,  in  the  spirit  of  self-renunciation,  has  placed 
himself  in  the  hands  and  under  the  direction  of  an- 
other, can  live  spiritually  in  any  other  way  than 
by  means  of  faith.  There  is  nothing  left  him  but 
simple  trust.  To  renounce  ourselves  entirely  and 
not  to  repose  trust  in  another,  would  soon  be  fol- 
lowed by  a  state  of  despair.     So  that  we  may  re- 


THE  IMAGE  OF  CHRIST.  299 

gard  it  as  the  natural  order  of  religious  sequence, 
that  the  principle  of  faith,  which  is  life  in  anoth- 
er, should  take  the  place  of  the  extinct  principle  of 
life  in  ourselves.  The  memorable  statement,  there- 
fore, that  "the  just  shall  live  by  faith,"  was  as  ap- 
plicable to  the  Savior,  as  to  any  other  holy  being. 
The  whole  history  of  the  intercourse,  which  took 
place  in  his  state  of  humiliation  between  him  and 
his  Father,  is  a  confirmation  of  this  position,  and 
declares  emphatically,  that  he  never  doubted. 
"Man  shall  not  live  by  bread  alone,"  he  said  to 
the  Tempter,  ''but  by  every  word,  that  proceedeih  out 
of  the  mouth  of  God."  He  said  to  the  Jews  on  a 
certain  occasion,  "I  am  not  come  of  myself,  but 
he,  that  sent  me,  is  true."  This  single  expression 
carries  with  it  important  meaning.  It  was  the 
truth  of  God,  his  firm  and  unchanging  faithfulness, 
upon  which  his  soul  rested,  as  upon  an  everlasting 
rock.  He  assures  us,  that  "without  his  Father,  he 
could  do  nothing  ;"  a  declaration  which  seems  ne- 
cessarily to  imply  the  existence  of  unwavering  con- 
fidence in  the  Being,  who  was  the  present  and  the 
only  source  of  his  power.  There  can  be  no  doubt, 
therefore,  that  the  direction,  which  he  gave  to  his 
disciples,  he  was  willing  to  apply  in  its  full  im- 
port to  himself.  "Have  faith  in  God."  In  his 
prayer  at  the  grave  of  Lazarus,  he  said,  "Father,  I 
thank  Thee,  that  thou  hast  heard  me.  And  I 
KNEW  [that  is  to  say,  had  entire  confidence,  unwa- 
vering faith,]  that  thou  hearest  me  always."  Faith 
sustained  him  in  trial  as  well  as  in  duty ;  in  the 
depths  of  afiiiction  as  well  as  in  the  active  labors 


300  OF  THE  NEW  LIFE  IN 

of  his  ministry.  Even  in  the  agonies  of  the  Cross, 
when  every  possible  sorrow  was  inflicted,  and  ev- 
ery other  consolation  was  taken  away,  he  was  sup- 
ported by  its  mighty  power  alone. 

And  in  connection  with  this  view,  we  are  not  to 
be  surprised  that  we  find  the  Savior  so  often  and 
so  earnestly  urging  upon  his  followers  the  necessity 
of  living  in  the  same  manner.  He  taught  them,  in 
various  ways  and  at  various  times,  that  faith  was 
the  source  of  their  inward  life  and  power  ;  and  that 
by  it  they  could  overcome  all  difficulties,  "remov- 
ing even  mountains."  Discomitenancmg  every 
other. mode  of  living,  he  decidedly  rebuked  the  dis- 
position, originating  in  unbelief,  to  seek  a  sign, 
(that  is  to  say,  a  striking  and  confirmatory  mani- 
festation of  some  kind,)  in  addition  to  and  in  sup- 
port of  the  simple  declaration  of  God.  "An  evil 
and  adulterous  generation,"  he  says,  "seeketh  after 
a  sign." 

(VI.) — We  proceed  to  observe,  in  the  sixth  place, 

that  the  Savior  was  a  man  of  prayer. We  have 

already  had  occasion  to  notice  his  declaration,  that 
"  without  his  Father  he  could  do  nothing."  And 
as  if  in  practical  recognition  and  manifestation  of 
his  entire  personal  dependence,  we  find  him  often 
kneeling  in  supplication,  and  drawing  divine 
strength  from  the  Everlasting  Fountain.  As  God, 
he  had  all  power.  As  man,  (the  aspect  in  which 
we  are  now  contemplating  him,)  he  had  no  power, 
which  he  did  not  receive  from  his  heavenly  Father. 
And  if  there  was  ever  any  instance  of  "living  by 
the  moment,"  (which  seems  to  us  the  true  way  of 


THE  IMAGE  OF  CHRIST.  301 

Christian  living,  and  which  obviously  implies 
praying  by  the  inoment,)wG  find  it  undoubtedly  in 
the  life  of  Jesus  Christ.  He  may  be  said,  therefore, 
with  a  great  deal  of  truth,  to  have  been  praying  all 
the  time.  Certainly  he  was  always  in  the  spirit 
of  prayer.  But,  besides  this  spirit  of  continual  in- 
tercourse with  God,  which  was  as  natural  to  him 
as  the  breath  which  he  breathed,  he  had  especial 
seasons  of  supplication,  when  he  went  apart  from 
men,  and  poured  forth  his  soul  in  private. 

"Cold  mountains  and  the  midnight  air, 
"Witnessed  the  fervor  of  his  prayer." 

If  even  the  Savior  could  do  nothing  without  his 
Father,  if  prayer  was  as  necessary  to  his  spiritual 
support,  as  the  very  air  he  breathed  was  to  the  sup- 
port of  his  body,  let  no  one  suppose,  that  he  can 
sustain  the  grace  of  a  truly  regenerated  and  sanc- 
tified heart,  Without  possessing  a  like  prayerful 
spirit. 

(VII.)— Our  next  remark  is  this.  The  Savior 
was  conscientious  and  strictly  faithful  in  whatever 
his  Father  committed  into  his  hands  to  do.  He 
lived  for  others.  And  in  living  for  others,  he  made 
no  secret  reservation,  that  he  would  in  some  things 
consult  his  own  interest.  In  the  language  of  Scrip- 
ture, "  He  pleased  not  himself."  In  the  various 
companies,  in  which  he  mingled,  he  never  forgot 
the  great  mission  on  which  he  came.  He  was  a 
man  of  labor,  as  well  as  of  faith  ;  and  showed  in 
his  whole  life,  that  action  is  the  result  of  believing. 
It  has  been  remarked  of  him,  that,  if  he  had  not 
had  something  to  say  to  Simon,  he  probably  would 
86 


302  OF  THE  NEW  LIFE  I^f 

not  have  been  found  seated  at  Simon's  table ;  and 
that  "there  is  not  an  instance  of  his  having  sat  at 
meat  with  sinners,  without  reproving  their  iniqui- 
ties ;  or  sharing  the  hospitahty  of  unbehevers,  with- 
out forcing  them  to  Hsten  to  his  words,"  He  felt 
it  his  duty  to  leave  nothing  undone,  which  ought 
to  be  done.  And  he  did  it  deliberately,  thoroughly, 
unremittingly.  His  whole  being,  in  all  its  innate 
power  and  all  its  outward  efforts,  was  devoted  to 
the  one  great  work  of  doing  his  Father's  will.  No 
personal  inconvenience,  no  opposition  and  threats 
of  men,  no  pressure  of  ])ersonal  and  temporary  in- 
terest, nor  any  other  obstacles  of  whatever  nature, 
had  the  effect  to  deter  him  from  doing  his  duty 
and  his  whole  duty  to  God  and  to  men.  "  I  find 
it  impossible,"  says  David  Brainerd,  "  to  enjoy 
peace  and  tranquillity  of  mind,  without  a  careful 
improvement  of  time.  This  is  really  an  imitation 
of  God  and  Christ  Jesus.  'My  Father  worketh 
liitherto,  and  I  work,'  says  our  Lord.  If  we  would 
be  like  God,  we  must  see  that  we  fill  up  our  time 
for  him." 

(YHI.) — We  observe,  in  the  eighth  place,  al- 
though the  Savior  was  faithful  and  diligent  in  the 
work  committed  to  his  hands,  he  was  not  prema- 
turely zealous  and  obtrusive.  He  realized,  that 
every  thing,  when  done  in  accordance  with  the 
will  of  his  heavenly  Father,  (a  will  which  can 
never  be  at  variance  with  the  highest  rationality,) 
must  necessarily  have  its  right  time  and  place.  In 
repeated  instances,  when  something  was  proposed 
to  him  Jo  be  done,  he  declined  acting  in  the  case, 


1 


THE  IMAGE  OF  CHRIST.  303 

on  the  ground  that  the  proper  occasion  of  action 
had  not  yet  arrived.  "  His  hour  had  not  yet  come." 
He  felt,  that  he  must  act  in  accordance  with  the 
will  of  his  heavenly  Father,  not  only  in  the  thing 
to  be  done ;  but  also  in  the  time  and  manner  of  do- 
ing it.  Although,  considered  as  a  mere  man,  he 
possessed  powers  of  judgment  vastly  greater  than 
fall  to  the  lot  of  ordinary  men,  and  enjoyed  also 
the  presence  and  guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit  "with- 
out measure;"  he,  nevertheless,  felt  it  to  be  con- 
sistent with  the  highest  duty,  to  nourish  his  pow- 
ers and  virtues  in  retirement,  and  not  to  bear  his 
message,  important  and  urgent  as  it  was,  prema- 
turely to  the  world. 

"Of  the  three  and  thirty  years,"  says  a  certain 
writer,  "  which  our  blessed  Redeemer  spent  on 
earth,  thirty  were  spent  in  the  obscurity  and  ab- 
jection of  a  private  and  humble  condition.  Not- 
withstanding the  zeal  for  the  glory  of  his  Father, 
and  the  salvation  of  men,  which  consumed  his 
soul ;  notwithstanding  the  tide  of  disorder  which 
overran  the  world,  and  the  abomination  of  sin  and 
scandal  which  pierced  his  heart,  the  eternal  incar- 
nate Wisdom  was  silent,  was  hidden,  and  so  re- 
mained until  the  hour  appointed  by  his  Father  had 
come;  repulsing,  even  with  apparent  severity,  the 
prayer  of  his  mother  according  to  the  flesh,  because 
it  seemed  to  urge  his  anticipating  that  hour."  =^ 

This  trait  in  the  Savior's  character  is,  in  a  prac- 
tical view,  very  important.  It  is  probably  through 
a  disregard,  in  part  at  least,  of  the  course  taken  by 
♦Interior  Peace  of  Pere  Lombez,  p.  329, 


304  OF  THE  NEW  LIFE  IN 

the  Savior,  which  has  now  been  mentioned,  that 
we  find,  in  all  denominations  of  Christians,  melan- 
choly instances  of  persons,  who  are  young  in  the 
Christian  life,  or  who  are  prompted  by  an  undue 
confidence,  exhibiting  a  disposition  to  enter  prema- 
turely, and  sometimes  violently,  upon  measures, 
which  are  at  variance  with  the  results  of  former 
experience  and  with  the  admonitions  of  ancient  pi- 
ety. All  mistakes  and  erroneous  proceedings  of 
this  kind  are  discountenanced  by  the  example  of 
our  Savior,  who  quietly  remained  hi  solitude  and 
silence,  and  was  refreshed  and  strengthened  with 
the  interior  dews  of  heavenly  knowledge,  till  the 
great  hour  arrived,  appointed  in  the  wisdom  of  his 
heavenly  Father,  which  called  him  forth  to  the 
ministry  and  the  Cross. 

(IX.) — In  another  particular  also,  is  the  Savior's 
character  deserving  of  our  notice.  He  exhibited, 
in  his  daily  deportment,  a  very  meek,  humble,  and 
quiet  disposition  of  mind.  Every  attentive  reader 
of  the  Gospels  will  recollect^  that  this  interesting 
and  beautiful  trait  shows  itself  in  his  personal  his- 
tory, in  a  very  remarkable  manner.  He  said  of 
himself,  "I  am  meek  and  lowly  of  heart."  In  the 
language  of  the  Apostle  Peter,  "  When  he  was  re- 
viled, he  reviled  not  again;  when  he  suffered,  he 
threatened  not  ;  but  committed  himself  to  Him, 
who  judgeth  righteously."  It  was  said  of  him 
prophetically,  and  before  his  advent  into  the  world, 
"He  was  oppressed  and  afflicted ;  yet  he  opened 
not  his  motUh. "  Isa.  53 ;  7.  And  again  in  the  same 
Prophet,  "He  shall  not  cry,  nor  lift  up,  nor  cause 


THE  IMAGE  OF  CHRIST.  305 

his  voice  to  be  heard  in  the  streets."  Isa.  42;  3. 
At  a  certain  time,  when  there  was  a  disposition 
among  some  of  his  disciples  to  put  forth  personal 
pretensions,  and  to  claim  the  preeminence  over  oth- 
ers, he  remarked  to  them.  "Whosoever  will  be 
great  among  you,  let  him  be  your  servant;  cA'^en 
as  the  Son  of  man  came,  not  to  be  ministered  unto, 
but  to  minister  and  to  give  up  his  life  a  ransom 
for  many."  Mat.  20:  28.  But  it  is  hardly  neces- 
sary to  make  particular  references,  when  his  whole 
life,  in  all  the  varieties  of  its  situation,  was  a  beau- 
tiful illustration  of  this  divine  trait.  He  had  com- 
passion upon  the  ignorant ;  he  made  his  dwelling 
with  the  poor ;  he  travelled  on  foot  from  place  to 
place  in  weariness  and  sorrow  ;  he  sat  at  meat  with 
publicans  and  sinners ;  he  washed  the  feet  of  his 
disciples.  In  the  possession  of  the  inestimable 
trait  of  meekness  and  quietness  of  spirit,  let  all, 
who  seek  the  highest  degree  of  purification  and 
sanctification  of  heart,  be  imitators  of  the  example 
of  Jesus  Christ ;  who,  in  the  language  of  the 
Apostle  Paul,  "made  himself  of  no  reputation  and 
took  upon  him  the  form  of  a  servant."  Philip.  2  :  7. 
Whatever  pretensions  any  of  us  might  justly  put 
forth  as  natural  men  or  as  men  of  the  world,  or,  in 
other  words,  whatever  we  might  justly  claim  from 
the  world  on  the  world's  principles,  we  should,  nev- 
ertheless, be  willing,  in  imitation  of  the  blessed 
Savior's  example,  to  be  made  of  no  reputation, 
and  to  become  the  servants  of  our  brethren. 

(X.) — We   do  not  propose  to   extend  these  re- 
marks on  this  interesting  subject.     In  conclusion, 
26» 


306  OF  THE  NEW  LIFE  IN 

however,  we  would  observe,  that  the  hfe  of  the 
Savior,  whether  considered,  inwardly  or  outward- 
ly, was  characterized  by  a  proportionate  fitness  or 
symmetry  in  all  its  parts.  It  cannot  be  said  of  the 
Savior,  as  he  existed  in  his  humanity,  that  he  was 
a  mere  combination  of  peculiarities ;  a  man  won- 
derful, not  by  the  excellencies,  but  by  the  eccen- 
tricities of  his  nature ;  exciting  attention  merely 
by  his  strange  unlikeness  to  every  thing,  which 
could  properly  be  expected  in  a  man.  On  the  con- 
trary, every  thing  was  perfect  and  appropriate  in 
its  position,  as  well  as  perfect  in  its  own  nature. 
All  the  remarkable  qualities,  which  as  separate  ele- 
ments contributed  to  the  constitution  of  his  perfect 
character,  were  blended  together  in  beautiful  har- 
mony. He  stands  before  us  complete  in  the  adap- 
tation of  the  parts  of  his  character,  as  well  as  com- 
plete in  the  parts  themselves;  complete,  therefore, 
as  a  whole  and  generically,  as  well  as  complete 
separately  and  specifically.  As  nothing  can  be  ad- 
ded to  the  amount  of  his  excellencies ;  so  it  does 
not  appear,  that  any  thing  can  be  improved  in 
their  relative  adjustment,  in  their  beautiful  and 
perfect  proportion.  This  is  the  man  Christ  Jesus, 
who  is  set  before  us  as  an  example:  who  "was 
tempted  in  all  points  as  we  are,  and  yet  without 
sin.'- 

(1.) — In  view  of  what  has  been  said,  a  few  re- 
marks may  properly  be  made.  And  the  first  is, 
that  the  life  of  Christ,  or  rather  the  religious  life 
as  manifested  in  Christ,  is  entirely  different  in  its 
character  from  the  life  of  nature.      In  the  life  of 


THE  IMAGE  OF  CHRIST.  307 

nature,  which  is  unprotected  and  unrestrained  by 
the  conservative  principle  of  supreme  love  to  God, 
every  thing  rims  to  excess.  That,  which  is  good 
in  itself,  becomes  vitiated  m  its  inordinate  action. 
Sympathy  assumes  the  shape  of  querulous  weak- 
ness. Friendships  are  stimulated  by  a  secret  sel- 
fish influence,  till  they  become  idolatry.  The  love 
of  knowledge  distorts  itself  into  obstmacy  of  opin- 
ion and  pride  of  mtellect.  An  allowable  and  holy 
displeasure  degenerates  into  the  violence  of  natu- 
ral anger  and  revenge.  Even  a  desire  to  do  good 
is  often  perverted,  through  a  selfish  impetuosity,  by 
an  injurious  and  fatal  disregard  to  the  proprieties  of 
time,  person,  and  place. 

In  those  who  are  but  partially  sanctified,  as  well 
as  in  those  who  are  wholly  dead  in  their  sins,  the 
natural  life,  in  itself  considered  and  just  so  far  as  it 
has  an  existence  at  all,  is  always  weak,  selfish,  in- 
consistent, passionate,  changeable. 

The  life  of  Christ  in  the  soul,  or  what  is  the 
same  thing,  the  life  of  the  soul  modelled  after  the 
image  of  Christ,  is  entirely  difierent.  Its  sympa- 
thy is  restrained  and  regulated  by  the  suggestions 
of  reason.  Its  personal  friendships  are  rendered 
pure  by  the  exclusion  of  all  idolatrous  regard.  Its 
love  is  unstained  by  selfishness;  and  its  indig- 
nation is  hallowed  by  love.  In  the  natural  life, 
every  thing  is  vitiated  either  by  excess  or  defect. 
In  the  life  of  Christ,  every  thing  is  correspondent 
to  the  truth  of  reason  and  the  commandment  of 
God. 

(2.) — In  particular,  the  life  of  Christ  in  the  soul 


308  OP  THE  NEW  LIFE  IN 

is  distinguished  from  the  natural  life,  in  being 
characterized  by  great  siMPLicixy. — It  is  a  common 
idea,  that  those,  who  have  been  the  subjects  of  the 
interior  transformation,  have  experienced  some- 
thing, which  is  very  remarkable.  And  undoubt- 
edly it  is  so.  There  is  truth  in  the  idea ;  but  prob- 
ably not  in  the  sense,  in  which  the  world  under- 
stand the  term.  The  coming  of  Christ  in  the  soul 
is  remarkable,  in  the  same  sense  in  which  the  man- 
ner of  Christ's  entrance  into  the  world  was  remark- 
able. It  was  certainly  remarkable,  that  the  Son  of 
God,  the  "express  image  of  the  Father,"  should  be- 
come the  "babe  of  Bethlehem,"  the  child  of  the 
humble  Mary.  And  thus  the  new  spiritual  life 
when  it  exists  in  truth,  is  not  the  offspring  of  earth- 
ly royalty,  that  is  heralded  by  the  huzzas  of  the 
multitude,  but  rather  the  "infant  in  the  manger," 
tliat  is  born  in  obscurity,  and  is  known  and  honored 
only  by  the  lowly  in  heart.  It  is  a  life,  so  far  from 
any  thing  that  is  calculated  to  attract  attention  in 
the  worldly  sense,  that  it  is  known  and  character- 
ized in  no  one  particular  more  than  by  what  we 
have  denominated  its  simplicity ;  by  its  being  in  the 
language  of  the  Savior  like  a  "little  child;"  by 
its  freedom  from  ostentation  and  noisy  pretension ; 
by  its  inward  nothingness. 

(3.) — Another  and  the  only  remaining  remark  is 
this.  It  is  evident,  that  the  life  of  Christ,  when 
examined  in  its  elements,  was  sustained  on  the 
two  great  principles,  which  have  been  so  often 
mentioned,  viz.  of  entire  consecration  and  oj  perfect 
faith.     It  is  very  true,  that  these  two  principles,  as 


THE  IMAGE  OF  CHRIST.  309 

we  have  already  seen,  did  not  constitute  the  whole 
of  his  inward  life  ;  but  it  cannot  be  doubted,  that 
they  formed  the  essential  basis  of  it.  They  were 
its  fundamental  elements ;  the  strong  pillars  on 
which  it  rested.  In  other  words,  the  Savior,  in  the 
true  spirit  of  consecration,  appeared  in  the  world, 
not  for  himself  and  his  own  pleasure,  but  for  the 
simple  purpose  of  doing  and  suffering  the  will  of 
his  heavenly  Father.  And,  in  the  fulfilment  of 
this  object,  he  lived,  as  all  his  followers  ought  to 
live,  by  the  sublime  principle  of  faith,  and  not  by  the 
inferior  guidance  of  open  vision.  So  that  his  life, 
to  express  its  great  outlines  in  a  single  word,  was 
a  life  united  to  God  by  its  disruption  from  every 
thing  else.  Or  in  still  other  expressions,  it  was  a 
life  so  united  to  God,  that  it  saw,  knew,  and  loved 
every  thing  else,  including  himself,  in  its  relation  to 
"the  Divine  Mind  ;  in  and  for  God,  and  God  alone. 
Happy  are  they,  the  features  of  whose  inward  ex- 
istence are  framed  and  fashioned  upon  this  divine 
model. 

We  do  not  doubt,  that  the  inward  religious  ex- 
perience in  different  individuals  may  receive  some 
modification,  more  or  less,  from  the  natural  char- 
acter. It  will  appear  differently  in  John  the  Bap- 
tist and  John  the  Disciple;  it  will  appear  different- 
ly in  Stephen,  m  Peter,  in  Paul.  But  the  differ- 
ence will  exist  in  the  modifications  and  not  in  the 
essence  of  the  thing ;  in  that,  which  is  outward 
and  incidental,  rather  than  in  that,  which  is  inter- 
nal and  substantial.  <  But  in  all  cases  of  true  ho- 
liness without  exception,  there  must  be,  and  there 


310       OF  THE  NEW  LIFE  IN  THE  IMAGE  OF  CHRIST. 

is  the  image  of  Christ  at  the  bottom,  j  In  all  cases 
in  which  the  work  of  God  is  carried  to  its  comple- 
tion, the  soul  has  become  an  "  Infant  Jesus  ;"  and 
like  its  prototype,  the  Jesus  of  Nazareth  and  the 
Cross,  it  will  grow  in  "  wisdom,  and  in  stature, 
and  in  favor  with  God  and  with  man." 

Such  Christians  and  such  Christianity  will  have 
an  effect  upon  the  world.  Those,  who  are  formed 
upon  this  divine  model,  not  only  have  a  noble  lin- 
eage; but  they  bear  in  themselves  the  impress  and 
the  inscription  of  a  true  nobility.  They  are  the 
tree,  mentioned  by  the  Psalmist,  which  is  "planted 
by  the  rivers  of  water  ;"  not  stinted  and  dwarfish, 
as  too  many  are,  who  bear  the  name  of  Christ ; 
not  smitten  with  rust  and  eaten  with  the  worm, 
but  sound  alike  in  the  body,  the  blossom,  and  the 
fruit;  not  crooked,  knotted,  and  unsymmetrical, 
but  free,  expansive,  and  proportional.  Wherever 
they  go,  the  world  recognizes  their  character,  with- 
out the  requisite  of  a  formal  proclamation.  The 
image  of  Jesus,  the  divinity  of  the  heart,  is  so 
written  upon  the  whole  outward  life,  that  they  are 
ai;  "  epistle,  known  and  read  of  all  men." 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-EIGHTH. 


On  the  trae  idea  of  Spiritual  Liberty^ 

It  has  probably  come  within  the  observation  of 
many  persons,  that  there  is  a  form  or  modification 
of  religious  experience,  which  is  denominated  "Lib- 
erty," Hence,  in  common  religious  parlance,  it  is 
not  unfrequently  the  case  that  we  hear  of  persons 
being  "  in  the  liberty,"  or  in  the  "true  liberty." 
These  expressions,  undoubtedly,  indicate  an  im- 
portant religious  truth,  which  has  not  altogether 
escaped  the  notice  of  writers  on  the  religious  life. 
The  account,  which  is  given  by  Francis  de  Sales 
of  "liberty  of  spirit,"  is,  that  "it  consists  in  keeping 
the  heart  totally  disengaged  from  every  created  thing,  in 
order  that  it  may  follow  the  known  will  of  God.^^ 

To  this  statement  of  De  Sales,  considered  as  a 
general  and  somewhat  indefinite  statement,  we  do 
not  find  it  necessary  to  object.  Certain  it  is  that 
he,  who  is  in  the  "true  liberty,"  is  "disengaged," 
and  has  escaped  from  the  enslaving  influence  of 
the  world.  God  has  become  to  him  an  inward  op- 
erative principle ;  without  whom  he  feels  he  can 
do  nothing  ;  and  in  connection  with  whose  blessed 
assistance  he  has  an  inward  consciousness,  that  the 


312  ON  THE  TRUE  IDEA 

world  and  its  lusts  have  lost  their  enthralling  pow- 
er. Liberty,  considered  in  this  general  sense  of 
the  term,  is  to  be  regarded  as  expressive  of  one  of 
the  highest  and  most  excellent  forms  of  Christian 
experience.  And  we  may  add  further,  that  none 
truly  enjoy  it  in  this  high  sense  but  those  who  are 
in  a  state  of  mind,  which  may  with  propriety  be 
denomhiated  sanctification ;  none  but  those  whom 
God  has  made  "  free  indeed."  We  proceed  now  to 
mention  some  of  the  marks,  by  which  the  condi- 
tion or  state  of  true  spiritual  liberty  is  character- 
ized. Nor  does  there  seem  to  be  much  difficulty 
in  doing  this,  because  liberty  is  the  opposite  of  en- 
thralment ;  and  because  it  is  easy,  as  a  general 
thing,  to  understand  and  to  specify  the  things,  by 
which  we  are  most  apt  to  be  enthralled. 

First. — The  person,  who  is  in  the  enjoyment  of 
true  spiritual  liberty,  is  no  longer  enthralled  to  the 
lower  or  appetitive  part  of  his  nature.  Whether 
he  eats  or  drinks,  or  whatever  other  appetite  may 
claim  its  appropriate  exercise,  he  can  say  in  truth, 
that  he  does  all  to  the  glory  of  God.  It  is  to  be 
lamented,  but  is,  nevertheless,  true,  that  there  are 
many  persons  of  a  reputable  Christian  standing, 
who  are  subject,  in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  to  a 
very  injurious  tyranny  from  this  source.  But  this 
is  not  the  case  with  those,  who  are  in  the  posses- 
sion of  inward  liberty.  Their  souls  have  entered 
into  the  pleasures  of  divine  rest.  And  they  can 
truly  say  they  are  dead  to  all  appetites,  except  so 
far  as  they  operate  to  fulfil  the  original  and  wise 
intentions  of  the  Being  who  implanted  them. 


OF  SPIRITUAL  LIBERTY.  313 

SecOx\d. — The  person,  who  is  in  the  enjoyment 
of  true  spiritual  liberty,  is  no  longer  enthralled  by 
certain  desires  of  a  higher  character  than  the  appe- 
tites ;  such  as  the  desire  of  society,  the  desire  of 
knowledge,  the  desire  of  the  world's  esteem,  and 
the  like.  These  principles,  which,  in  order  to  dis- 
tinguish them  from  the  appetites,  may  convenient- 
ly be  designated  as  the  propensities  or  propensive 
principles,  operate  in  the  man  of  true  inward  lib- 
erty as  they  were  designed  to  operate,  but  never 
with  the  power  to  enslave.  He  desires,  for  in- 
stance, to  go  into  society,  and,  in  compliance  with 
the  suggestions  of  the  social  principle,  to  spend  a 
portion  of  time  in  social  intercourse ;  but  he  finds 
it  entirely  easy,  although  the  desire,  in  itself  con- 
sidered, may  be  somewhat  marked  and  strong,  to 
keep  it  in  strict  subordination  to  his  great  purpose 
of  doing  every  thing  for  the  glory  of  God.  Or  per- 
haps, under  the  influence  of  another  propensive 
tendency,  that  of  the  principle  of  curiosity,  he  de- 
sires to  read  a  book  of  much  interest,  which  some 
individual  has  placed  before  him ;  but  he  finds  it 
entirely  within  his  power,  as  in  the  other  case,  to 
check  his  desire,  and  to  keep  it  in  its  proper  place. 
In  neither  of  these  instances,  nor  in  others  like 
them,  is  he  borne  down,  as  we  often  perceive  to  be 
the  case,  by  an  almost  uncontrollable  tendency  of 
mind.  The  desire,  as  soon  as  it  begins  to  exist,  is 
at  once  brought  to  the  true  test.  The  question  at 
once  arises,  Is  the  desire  of  spending  my  time  in 
this  way  conformable  to  the  will  of  God  ?  And  if 
it  is  found  or  suspected  to  be  at  variance  with  the 

27 


311  ON  THE  TKUE  IDEA 

divine  will,  it  is  dismissed  ut  once.  The  mind  is 
conscious  of  an  inward  strength,  which  enables  it 
to  set  at  defiance  all  enslaving  tendencies  of  this 
nature. 

Third. — A  man,  who  is  in  the  enjoyment  of  true 
religious  liberty,  will  not  be  enthralled  by  inordi- 
nate domestic  or  patriotic  affections,  however  enno- 
bling they  may  be  thought  to  be ;  such  as  the  love 
of  parents  and  children,  the  love  of  friends  and 
country.  It  is  true  that  spiritual  liberty  does  not 
exclude  the  exercise  of  these  affections,  which  are 
in  many  respects  generous  and  elevated,  any  more 
than  it  condemns  and  excludes  the  existence  and 
exercise  of  the  lower  appetites  and  propensities. 
It  pronounces  its  condemnation  and  exclusion  up- 
on a  certain  degree  of  them,  or  a  certain  intensity 
of  power.  When  they  are  so  strong  as  to  become 
perplexities  and  entanglements  in  the  path  of  duty, 
then  they  are  evidently  inconsistent  with  the  exist- 
ence of  true  spiritual  freedom;  and  in  that  shape 
and  in  that  degree  necessarily  come  under  condem- 
nation. I  have,  for  instance,  a  very  near  and  dear 
friend,  who  is  exceedingly  worthy  of  my  affections ; 
but  if  my  love  to  him  leads  me,  perhaps  almost  in- 
voluntarily, to  seek  his  company,  when  my  duty  to 
my  God  and  my  fellow-men  calls  me  in  another 
direction;  and  if  I  find  it  difficult  to  subdue  and 
regulate  this  disposition  of  mind,  it  is  evident  that 
I  am  not  in  the  purest  and  highest  state  of  internal 
liberty.  I  have  wrongly  given  to  a  creature  some- 
thing which  belongs  to  God  alone. 

Fourth. — When  we  are  wrongly  under  the  in- 


OF  SPIRITUAL  LIBERTY.  315 

fluence  of  disinclinations  and  aversions,  we  cannot 
be  said  to  be  in  internal  liberty.  Sometimes,  when 
God  very  obviously  calls  us  to  the  discharge  of  du- 
ty, we  are  internally  conscious  of  a  great  degree  of 
backwardness.  We  do  it,  it  is  true ;  but  we  feel 
that  we  do  not  like  to  do  it.  There  are  certain  du- 
ties, which  we  owe  to  the  poor  and  degraded,  to 
the  openly  profane  and  impure,  which  are  often- 
times repugnant  to  persons  of  certain  refined  men- 
tal habits  ;  but  if  we  find  that  these  refined  repug- 
nancies, which  come  in  the  way  of  duty,  have  great 
power  over  us,  we  are  not  in  the  true  liberty.  We 
have  not  that  strength  in  God,  which  enables  us  to 
act  vigorously  and  freely.  Sometimes  we  have  an 
aversion  to  an  individual,  the  origin  of  which  we 
cannot  easily  account  for;  there  is  something  un- 
pleasant to  us,  and  perhaps  unreasonably  so,  in  his 
countenance,  his  manners,  or  his  person.  If  this 
aversion  interferes  with  and  prevents  the  prompt 
and  full  discharge  of  the  duty  which,  as  a  friend 
and  a  Christian,  we  owe  to  him,  then  we  have  rea- 
son to  think  that  we  have  not  reached  that  state  of 
holy  and  unrestrained  flexibility  of  mind,  which  the 
true  idea  of  spiritual  liberty  implies. 

Fifth. — The  person  is  not  in  the  enjoyment  of 
true  liberty  of  spirit,  who  is  wanting  in  the  dispo- 
sition of  accommodation  to  others  in  things,  which 
are  not  of  especial  importance.  And  this  is  the 
case  when  we  needlessly  insist  upon  having  every 
thing  done  in  our  own  time  and  manner;  when  we 
are  troubled  about  little  things,  which  are  in  them- 
selves indiff"erent,  and  think,  perhaps,  more  of  th? 


316  ON  THE  TRUE  IDEA 

position  of  a  chair  than  of  the  salvation  of  a  soul  ; 
when  we  find  a  difficulty  in  making  allowance 
for  the  constitutional  differences  in  others,  which  it 
may  not  be  either  easy  or  important  for  them  to 
correct ;  when  we  find  ourselves  disgusted  because 
another  does  not  express  himself  in  entire  accord* 
ance  with  our  principles  of  taste  ;  or  when  we  are 
displeased  and  dissatisfied  with  his  religious  or  oth- 
er performances,  although  we  know  he  does  the 
best  he  can.  All  these  things,  and  many  others 
like  them,  give  evidence  of  a  mind  that  has  not 
entered  into  the  broad  and  untramelled  domain  of 
spiritual  freedom. 

We  may  properly  add  here,  that  the  fault-finder 
is  not  a  man  of  a  free  spirit.  Accordingly,  those 
who  are  often  complaining  of  their  minister,  of  the 
brethren  of  the  church,  of  the  time  and  manner  of 
the  ordinances,  and  of  many  other  persons  and 
things,  will  find,  on  a  careful  examination,  that 
they  are  too  full  of  self,  too  strongly  moved  by  their 
personal  views  and  interests,  to  know  any  thing  of 
that  ennobling  liberty,  which  the  Savior  gives  to 
his  truly  sanctified  ones. 

Sixth. — The  person,  who  is  disturbed  and  impa- 
tient when  events  fall  out  differently  from  what  he 
expected  and  anticipated,  is  not  in  the  enjoyment 
of  true  spiritual  freedom.  In  accordance  with  the 
great  idea  of  God's  perfect  sovereignty,  the  man  of 
a  religiously  free  spirit  regards  all  events  which 
take  place,  sin  only  excepted,  as  an  expression, 
under  the  existing  circumstances,  of  the  will  of  God. 
And  such  is  his  unity  with  the  divine  will,  that 


OF  SPIRITUAL  LIBERTY.  317 

there  is  an  immediate  acquiescence  in  the  event, 
whatever  may  be  its  nature,  and  however  afflicting 
in  its  personal  bearings.  His  mind  has  acquired, 
as  it  were,  a  divine  flexibility,  in  virtue  of  which 
it  accommodates  itself  with  surprising  ease  and 
readiness  to  all  the  developments  of  Providence, 
whether  prosperous  or  adverse. 

Seventh. — Those,  who  are  in  the  enjoyment  of 
true  liberty,  are  patient  under  interior  temptations 
and  all  inward  trials  of  mind.  They  can  bless  the 
hand,  that  smites  them  internally  as  well  as  exter- 
nally. Knowing  that  all  good  exercises  are  from 
the  Holy  Spirit,  they  have  no  disposition  to  pre- 
scribe to  God  what  the  particular  nature  of  those 
exercises  shall  be.  If  God  sees  fit  to  try  and  to 
strengthen  their  spirit  of  submission  and  patience 
by  bringing  them  into  a  state  of  great  heaviness 
and  sorrow,  either  by  subjecting  them  to  severe 
temptations  from  the  adversary  of  souls,  or  by  lay- 
ing upon  them  the  burden  of  deep  grief  for  an  im- 
penitent world,  or  in  any  other  way,  they  feel  it  to 
be  all  right  and  well.  They  ask  for  their  daily 
bread  spiritually,  as  well  as  temporally ;  and  they 
cheerfully  receive  what  God  sees  fit  to  send  them. 

Eighth.— 'The  person,  who  enjoys  true  liberty 
of  spirit,  is  the  most  deliberate  and  cautious  in  do- 
ing what  he  is  most  desirous  to  do.  This  arises 
from  the  fact,  that  he  is  very  much  afraid  of  being 
out  of  the  line  of  God's  will  and  order.  He  dis- 
trusts and  examines  closely  all  strong  desires  and 
strong  feelings  generally,  especially  if  they  agitate 
his  mind  and  render  it  somewhat  uncontrollable, 
27  • 


318  ON  THE  TRUE  IDEA 

Not  merely  or  chiefly  because  the  feelings  are 
strong ;  that  is  not  the  reason  ;  but  because  there 
is  reason  to  fear,  from  the  very  fact  of  their  strength 
and  agitating  tendency,  that  some  of  nature's  fire, 
which  true  sanctification  quenches  and  destroys, 
has  mingled  in  with  the  holy  and  peaceable  flame 
of  divine  love.  John  the  Baptist,  no  doubt,  had  a 
strong  natural  desire  to  be  near  Jesus  Christ  while 
he  was  here  on  earth,  to  hear  his  divine  words,  to 
enjoy  personally  his  company ;  but  in  the  enno- 
bling liberty  of  spirit  which  the  Holy  Ghost  gave 
him,  he  was  enabled  to  overrule  and  suppress  this 
desire,  and  to  remain  alone  in  the  solitary  places 
of  the  wilderness. 

Ninth. — The  possessor  of  true  religious  liberty, 
when  he  has  submissively  and  conscientiously  done 
his  duty,  is  not  troubled  by  any  undue  anxiety  in 
relation  to  the  result.  It  may  be  laid  down  as  a 
maxim,  that  he,  who  asserts  that  he  has  left  all 
things  in  the  hands  of  God,  and  at  the  same  time 
exhibits  trouble  and  agitation  of  spirit  in  relation 
to  the  results  of  those  very  things,  (with  the  excep- 
tion of  those  agitated  movements  or  disquietudes, 
which  are  purely  instinctive,)  gives  abundant  evi- 
dence, in  the  fact  of  this  agitation  of  spirit,  that 
he  has  not  really  made  the  entire  surrender,  which 
he  professes  to  have  made.  The  alledged  facts 
are  contradictory  of  each  other,  and  both  cannot 
exist  at  the  same  time. 

Tenth. — The  person  of  a  truly  liberated  spirit, 
although  he  is  ever  ready  to  do  his  duty,  waits  pa- 
tiently till  the  proper  time  of  action.     He  has  no 


OF  SPIRITUAL  LIBERTY.  319 

choice  of  time  but  that  which  is  indicated  by  the 
providence  of  God.  The  Savior  himself  could  not 
act,  until  his  "hour  was  come."  When  he  was 
young,  he  was  subject  to  his  parents ;  when  he  was 
older,  he  taught  in  the  Synagogues.  In  his  jour- 
neyings,  in  his  miracles,  in  his  instructions,  in  his 
sufferings,  he  always  had  an  acquiescent  and  ap- 
proving reference  to  that  providential  order  of 
events,  which  his  heavenly  Father  had  established. 
On  the  contrary,  an  enthralled  mind,  although  it  is 
religiously  disposed  in  part,  will  frequently  adopt 
a  precipitate  and  undeliberate  course  of  action, 
which  is  inconsistent  with  a  humble  love  of  the 
divine  order.  Such  a  person  thinks  that  freedom 
consists  in  having  things  in  his  own  way,  where- 
as true  freedom  consists  in  having  things  in  the 
right  way ;  and  the  right  way  is  God's  way. 
And  in  this  remark  we  include  not  only  the  thing 
to  be  done,  and  the  manner  of  doing  it,  but  also 
the  time  of  doing  it. 

Finally. — In  view  of  what  has  been  said,  and  as 
a  sort  of  summary  of  the  whole,  we  may  remark 
that  true  liberty  of  spirit  is  found  in  those,  and  in 
those  only,  who,  in  the  language  of  De  Sales, 
"keep  the  heart  totally  disengaged  from  every 
created  thing,  in  order  that  they  may  follow  the 
known  will  of  God."  In  other  words,  it  is  found 
with  those  who  can  say,  with  the  Apostle  Paul, 
that  they  are  "dead,  and  their  life  is  hid  with 
Christ  in  God."  The  ruling  motive  in  the  breast 
of  the  man  of  a  religiously  free  spirit  is,  that  he 
may  in  all  cases  and  on  all  occasions,  do  the  will 


320  ON  THE  TRUE  IDEA 

of  God.  In  that  will  his  "Hfe  is  hid."  The  su- 
premacy of  the  divine  will,  in  other  words,  the 
reign  of  God  in  the  heart,  necessarily  has  a  di- 
rect and  powerful  operation  upon  the  appetites, 
propensities,  and  affections ;  keeping  them,  each 
and  all,  in  their  proper  place.  As  God  rules  in 
the  heart,  every  thing  else  is  necessarily  subordin- 
ate. It  is  said  of  the  Savior  himself  that  "he  pleas- 
ed not  himself,"  but  that  he  came  "to  do  his  Fa- 
ther's will." 

Another  thing,  which  can  be  said  affirmatively  and 
positively  is,  that  those,  who  are  spiritually  free, 
are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God.  A  man,  who  is  real- 
ly guided  by  his  appetites,  his  propensities,  his  af- 
fections, his  love  of  country,  or  any  thing  else  oth- 
er than  the  Spirit  of  God,  cannot  be  said  to  be  led 
by  that  divine  Spirit.  The  Spirit  of  God,  ruling 
in  the  heart,  will  not  bear  the  presence  of  any  ri- 
val, any  competitor.  In  the  heart  of  true  liberty 
the  Spirit  of  God  rules,  and  rules  alone  :  so  that 
he,  who  is  in  the  possession  of  this  liberty,  does 
nothing  of  his  own  pleasure  or  his  own  choice. 
That  is  to  say,  in  all  cases  of  voluntary  action,  he 
does  nothing  under  the  impulse  and  guidance  of 
natural  pleasure  or  natural  choice  alone.  His  lib- 
erty consists  in  being  free  from  self;  in  being  lib- 
erated from  the  dominion  of  the  world ;  in  lying 
quietly  and  submissively  in  the  hands  of  God;  in 
leaving  himself,  like  clay  in  the  hands  of  the  pot- 
ter, to  be  moulded  and  fashioned  by  the  divine 
will.  Natural  liberty  may  be  said  to  consist  in  fol- 
lowing the  natural  sentiments :  in  doing  our  own 


OF  SPIRITUAL  LIBERTY.  321 

desires  and  purposes,  which  naturally  throng  in 
upon  the  soul  and  take  possession.  It  is  like  a 
strong  man,  that  is  under  the  complete  control  of 
his  irregular  passions.  Spiritual  liberty  consists  in 
passively,  yet  intelligently  and  approvingly,  fol- 
lowing the  leadings  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  It  is  like 
a  little  child,  that  reposes  in  simplicity  and  in  per- 
fect confidence  on  the  bosom  of  its  beloved  mother. 
Natural  liberty  combines,  with  the  appearance  of 
liberty,  the  reality  of  subjection.  He,  who  has  but 
natural  liberty,  is  a  slave  to  himself.  In  spiritual 
liberty  it  is  just  the  opposite.  He,  who  is  spiritu- 
ally free,  has  entire  dominion  over  himself.  Spirit- 
ual liberty  implies,  with  the  fact  of  entire  submis- 
sion to  God,  the  great  and  precious  reality  of  inte- 
rior emancipation.  He,  who  is  spiritually  free,  is 
free  in  God.  And  he  may,  perhaps,  be  said  to  be 
free  in  the  same  sense  in  which  God  is ;  who  is 
free  to  do  every  thing  right  and  nothing  wrong. 

This  is  freedom  indeed.  This  is  the  liberty,  Avith 
which  Christ  makes  free.  This  is  emancipation, 
which  inspires  the  songs  of  angels ;  a  freedom, 
which  earth  cannot  purchase,  and  which  hell  can- 
not shackle. 


CHAPTER  TWENTY-NINTH. 


On  the  state  of  Inward  Recollection. 


I  BELIEVE  it  is  the  case,  that  all  those,  who  have 
had  much  experience  in  the  principles  and  meth- 
ods of  interior  living,  agree  in  attaching  a  very- 
great  importance  to  the  state  of  inward  recollec- 
tion. It  is  certainly  difficult  to  meet  the  crosses 
and  trials  of  life  with  composure,  and  to  sustain  the 
soul  on  other  occasions,  in  purity  and  peace,  with- 
out the  aid  of  inwardly  recollected  habits  of  mind. 
However  sincere  may  be  our  desire  for  entire  de- 
votedness  of  heart,  and  whatever  resolutions  we 
may  form  with  that  view,  we  shall  often  find  our- 
selves in  confusion  of  spirit  and  inadvertently  fail- 
ing in  the  fulfilment  of  our  own  resolutions,  with- 
out this  important  aid. 
^  Inward  recollection  is  that  serious  and  collected 
(  state  of  mind,  in  which  God  is  realized  and  felt  as 
the  inward  and  present  counsellor,  guide,  and 
judge  of  all  our  actions,  both  internal  andexternal. 
In  its  results,  when  it  becomes  the  fixed  habit  of 
the  soul,  it  not  only  restores  God  to  the  inward 
possession  and  establishes  Him  upoji  the  throne  of 
the  intellect  and  heart;  but   differing   from   that 


ON  THE  STATE  OP  INWARD  RECOLLECTION.  323 

condition,  in  which  He  comes  in  broken  and  frag- 
mentary visits,  it  sustains  Him  there  essentially 
without  interruption,  in  what  may  be  termed  a 
continuance  or  perpetuity  of  presence.  In  a  word, 
it  is  the  devoutly  and  practically  realized  presence 
of  God  in  the  soul,  moment  by  moment.  This  is 
the  state  of  mind,  which,  we  cannot  hesitate  in 
saying,  all  Christians  ought  to  be  in.  It  is  hardly 
necessary  to  say,  that  it  is  a  scriptural  state  of 
mind.  It  is  obviously  implied  and  taught  in  those 
numerous  passages  of  Scripture,  which  inculcate 
the  duty  of  watchfulness,  which  speak  of  setting 
the  Lord  always  before  us,  of  walking  with  God, 
and  of  our  inability  to  do  any  thing  without  him. 
And  it  is  not  more  agreeable  to  God's  Word,  than 
it  is  suited  to  man's  condition;  not  more  scrip- 
tural, than  it  is  necessary.  We  need  it,  in  order  to 
know  what  to  do.  We  need  it,  in  order  to  do  what 
is  proper  and  necessary  to  be  done,  in  a  just,  Chris- 
tian, and  holy  manner.  We  need  it  in  all  times 
and  places,  and  in  small  things  as  well  as  great ; 
since  there  are  no  times  and  places,  from  which 
God  ought  to  be  excluded;  and  nothing  is  so  small, 
that  it  may  not  have  great  and  important  relations. 
It  will  be  objected  perhaps,  that  the  state  of  In- 
ward Recollection,  considered  as  a  state  of  long 
continuance  and  still  more  as  perpetual,  is  an  im- 
practicable one.  Whatever  it  may  be  to  others, 
(and  undoubtedly  it  is  a  state  of  mind,  which  is 
never  experienced  either  in  the  absence  of  religion 
or  in  a  low  state  of  religion,)  it  is  certainly  not  im- 
practicable  to  a  person  of  a  truly   devout  spirit. 


324  ON  THE  STATE  OF 

But  how  can  it  be  possible,  says  the  objector,  inas- 
much as  the  reUgious  hfe  is  made  up,  in  a  great 
degree,  of  specific  religious  duties,  that  a  person 
can  give  the  attention  of  his  mind  to  those  duties, 
and  be  occupied  with  the  distinct  idea  of  God  at 
the  same  time  ?  The  difficulty,  which  is  implied 
in  this  objection,  whatever  may  be  its  reality  or  its 
extent,  is  met  and  obviated,  at  least  for  all  practi- 
cal purposes,  by  an  acknowledged  law  of  our  men- 
tal nature.  We  refer  to  the  principle  or  law  of 
Habit,  By  means  of  this  law  the  rapidity  of  the 
mental  action  may  be  increased  to  a  degree,  almost 
inconceivable  ;  so  much  so  that  actions,  which  are 
distinct  in  time,  will  appear  to  be  simultaneous ; 
and  objects,  which  are  separately  attended  to,  will 
appear  to  be  embraced  in  one  mental  view.  And 
so  far  as  all  practical  purposes  are  concerned,  the 
acts  of  the  mind,  which  thus  separatately  and  suc- 
cessively take  place,  may  be  truly  regarded  as  one 
act.  And  applying  this  law  to  the  state  of  inward 
recollection,  we  may  easily  see,  how  the  mind 
may  be  occupied  with  a  specific  duty  and  may  at 
the  same  time  be  percipient  of  the  divine  presence, 
and  may  also  connect  the  two  together  and  impart 
to  them  a  character  of  unity,  so  that  the  duty  may 
properly  be  said  to  be  done  in  a  religiously  recol- 
lected state.  The  movement  of  the  mind  in  rela- 
tion to  the  duty,  and  then  in  relation  to  God  as 
cognizant  of  the  duty,  and  the  transition  from  one 
to  the  other,  are  all  so  exceedingly  rapid,  that 
memory  does  not  ordinarily  separate  and  recog- 
nize them  as  distinct  acts;  and  thus  in  our  ap- 


INWARD  RECOLLECTION.  325 

prehension  and  consciousness  of  them,  they  are 
blended  together  as  one.  God,  therefore,  in  our 
mental  contemplation  of  him,  may  be  made 
present  to  all  our  specific  duties ;  and  thus  the  es- 
sential condition  is  fulfilled,  which  enables  the  mind 
to  exist  in  the  state  of  inward  recollection.  ^  It  is 
our  privilege,  therefore,  a  privilege  too  often  under- 
valued and  neglected,  to  do  every  thing  which 
Christian  duty  requires,  as  in  the  divine  presence,  in 
God  and  for  God.  /  We  proceed  now  to  specify 
some  of  those  antecedent  conditions  or  tendencies 
of  mind,  which  may  properly  be  regarded  as  pre- 
paratory, and  even  indispensable,  to  the  state  of 
Inward  Recollection. 

(I.) — In  the  first  place,  there  must  be  a  sincere 
and  earnest  desire  to  possess  it.  This  eminent 
grace,  without  which  the  kingdom  of  God  in  the 
soul  will  be  liable  to  constant  irruptions  and  over- 
throws, will  never  be  possessed  by  a  heart,  that  is 
indifferent  to  its  possession.  It  can  belong  to  those 
and  those  only,  who  with  a  sincere  disposition  to 
seek  God  in  all  things,  can  be  truly  said  to  '-hun- 
ger and  thirst  after  righteousness." 

(II.) — -In  the  second  place,  in  order  to  possess 
recollection  of  spirit,  it  will  be  necessary  not  to  be 
involved,  to  an  undue  extent,  in  the  perplexities  of 
worldly  business.  There  is  such  a  thing  as  ad- 
mitting so  much  of  the  world  and  its  cares  into  the 
mind,  as  to  crowd  out  the  great  idea  of  God.  In- 
deed, this  is  often  done.  And  thus  men,  and  some 
of  them  too,  who  occasionally  observe  the  formali- 
ties of  religion,  become  practical  atheists.     I  notice, 


326  ON  THE  STATE  OF 

in  reading  the  religious  writings  of  Antonia  Bou- 
rignon,  that  she  expresses  her  opinion  to  one  of 
her  correspondents,  that  God  had  sent  a  certain  af- 
fliction upon  him,  in  order  to  bring  him  to  the  state 
of  mind,  which  we  are  now  considering.  "The 
multitude  of  your  comings  and  goings,"  she  re- 
marks among  other  things,  "and  other  agitations 
of  body  do,  without  doubt,  disturb  the  inward  rec- 
ollection. It  is  impossible  to  converse  purely 
with  God,  [that  is  to  say,  when  we  permit  them  to 
have  their  natural  effect  upon  us,]  in  the  midst  of 
external  agitations."  And  again  she  says,  in  wri- 
ting to  another  person,  "if  you  could  but  proceed 
in  this  affair,  keeping  your  spirit  recollected  in  God, 
I  doubt  not  but  it  would  succeed  to  his  glory  and 
our  great  good.  I  speak  always  of  this  recollec- 
tion ;  because  I  myself  can  do  nothing  out  of  it. 
God's  spirit  is  a  well  regulated,  orderly  spirit,  which 
proceeds  with  temperance,  and  weight,  and  meas- 
ure, and  discretion,  icithoul  any  mannei'  of  precipita- 
tion:'* 

(III.) — In  the  third  place,  in  order  to  possess  in- 
ward recollection,  we  are  to  have  nothing  to  do, 
as  a  general  rule,  in  thought  or  in  feeling,  or  in 
any  other  way,  with  any  thing  but  the  present 
moment,  and  its  natural  and  necessary  relations. 
Discursive  thoughts  of  a  flighty  and  purely  imag- 
inative character,  either  going  back  to  the  past,  tor 
the  mere  purpose  of  drawing  pleasure  from  it,  or 
prospective  and  anticipative  of  the  future  in  the 
manner  of  an  idle  man's  reverie,  are  great  hindran- 


Bourignon's  Light  in  Darkness,  pp.  12,  132. 


INWARD  RECOLLECTION.  327 

ces  to  a  recollected  state.  We  are,  in  that  way, 
rather  pleasing  ourselves  than  God;  and  the  di- 
vine presence  cannot  well  be  secured  at  such  times. 
In  other  words,  as  a  general  rule,  there  must  be 
before  us  some  present  object.  And  that  object 
must  be  regarded  by  us  particularly  in  its  moral 
aspect  and  relations.  The  present  moment,  is  nec- 
essarily, to  a  certain  extent,  a  declaration  of  the 
divine  will ;  and  furnishes  the  basis  of  present  du- 
ty. And  it  is  the  duty  of  the  present  moment,  con- 
sidered in  its  moral  extension,  to  which,  and  to 
which  only,  God  will  consent  to  be  a  party. 

(IV.) — It  may  be  added  further,  that  the  state 
of  mind,  which  we  are  considering,  will  not  be 
likely  to  be  possessed  without  great  fixedness  of 
purpose;  a  holy  inflexibility  of  will,  which  keeps 
the  mind  steady  to  its  object.  We  must  not  only 
wish  to  be  the  Lord's  in  this  matter;  but  resolve  to 
be  so.  It  is  well  understood,  that  even  worldly 
objects,  restricted  as  they  are  in  compass  and  im- 
portance, cannot,  in  general,  be  satisfactorily  ac- 
com'plished  by  an  unfixed  and  vacillating  mind. 
And  still  less  can  the  vast  objects  of  religion.  I 
know,  if  the  great  object  of  interior  recollection  is 
proposed  to  be  secured  by  the  mere  labor  of  the 
will  alone,  without  the  cooperation  of  the  affectionSj 
it  will  be  hard  work,  and  useless  work  too.  And 
on  the  other  hand  a  favorable  posture  of  the  afieC' 
tions  will  be  of  but  little  avail,  unless  the  desires 
and  inclinations  are  aided  by  the  superadded  ener- 
gy of  a  fixed  determination.  But  when  the  deci- 
sive and  uncompromising  act  of  the  will  combines 


328  ON  THE  STATE  OF 

its  influence  with  that  of  the  aspirations  of  the 
heart,  the  most  favorable  results  may,  with  the 
grace  of  God,  be  reasonably  expected.  It  is  true, 
without  the  grace  of  God,  nothing  can  be  done, 
whatever  may  be  the  applications  and  discipline  of 
the  mind.  But  when  the  conditions,  which  have 
been  mentioned,  are  fulfilled,  the  divine  assistance, 
if  we  may  rely  upon  the  promises,  can  never  be 
wanting. 

(1.) — It  has  already  been  intimated,  that  the 
state  of  mind,  to  which  our  attention  has  been  di- 
rected, is  one  of  great  practical  importance,  And 
we  proceed,  therefore,  to  observe  now,  that  one 
of  the  benefits  connected  with  the  state  of  inward 
recollection  is,  that  it  is  favorable  to  the  best  im- 
provement of  time.  It  will  be  a  matter  of  course, 
that  the  person,  who  lives  in  religious  recollection, 
will  avoid  unnecessary  employments.  With  the 
idea  of  God,  and  perhaps  we  may  add  with  the  re- 
ality of  God,  continually  present  in  his  heart, 
scrutinizing  every  motive  and  action,  and  continu- 
ally enforcing  the  claims  of  moral  obligation,  he 
will  find  no  time  to  be  spent  idly,  nor  for  the  mere 
purposes  of  pleasure.  Nor  can  he  under  such  cir- 
cumstances be  the  subject  of  internal  dissipation  ; 
of  vain  and  wandering  imaginations  and  reveries; 
but  will  be  enabled,  to  a  degree  unknown  before, 
to  bring  every  thought  as  well  as  every  feeling,  in- 
to subjection. — In  order  to  prevent  misapprehen- 
sion, it  may  properly  be  added  here,  that  whatever 
recreation  of  body  or  mind,  either  by  social  inter- 
course or  in  any  other  way,   is  really  required  by 


INWARD  RECOLLECTION.  329 

the  physical  and  mental  constitution  and  laws,  is 
entirely  consistent  with  duty  and  with  inward  rec- 
ollection. A  remark,  however,  which  requires,  in 
its  practical  application,  no  small  share  of  wisdom. 

(2.) — Again,  the  state  of  inward  recollection 
tends  to  diminish  greatly  the  occasions  of  tempta- 
tion. It  is  very  obvious,  that  he,  who  knows 
nothing  but  his  present  duty  in  itself  and  in  its  re- 
lations, which  is  all  that  it  is  necessary  for  him  to 
know,  cannot  be  so  much  exjiosed  in  this  respect, 
as  other  persons.  Unspeakable  dangers  must,  of 
necessity,  beset  the  mind,  which  is  full  of  worldly 
activity,  and  which  is  continually  discursive  ;  run- 
ning upon  errands  where  it  is  not  called ;  curi- 
ously and  unnecessarily  speculative ;  prying,  oft- 
entimes with  microscopic  minuteness,  into  the 
coucorus  of  others,  not  only  without  reason  but 
against  reason.  What  a  flood  of  tempting  thoughts 
must  flow  out  upon  these  various  occasions,  and 
throng  around  the  mind!  What  suggestions, 
which  Satan  knows  well  when  and  where  to 
apply,  to  envy,  distrust,  anger,  pride,  worldly 
pleasure,  ambition  ;  none  of  which  probably  would 
have  approached  the  mind,  that  remained  recollec- 
ted in  God. 

(3.) — Another  remark  is,  that  Inward  Recollec- 
tion helps  us  to  know  the  truth,  especially  mor- 
al truth.  /  The  supreme  desire  of  him  who  has  fully 
given  his  heart  to  God,  is,  not  merely  that  he  may 
be  happy  and  thus  please  himself,  but  that  he  may 
KNOW  and  do  God's  will.\  Knowledge,  therefore, 
(we  do  not  mean  all  kinds  of  knowledge,  but  par- 
28* 


330  ON  THE  STATE  OF 

ticularly  that  which  has  relation  to  the  divine  will,) 
is  obviously  of  the  greatest  consequence.  And 
those  will  know  most,  who  are  the  most  recollect- 
ed. The  truth  opens  itself  to  the  mind,  that  faith- 
fully perseveres  in  the  state  of  inward  recollec- 
tion, with  remarkable  clearness.  And  the  reason, 
in  part,  is,  because  the  mind,  in  a  religiously  rec- 
ollected state,  ceases  to  be  agitated  by  the  pas- 
sions. "The  light  of  God,"  says  the  writer  alrea- 
dy referred  to,  "shines  as  the  sun  at  noon  day ; 
but  our  passions,  like  so  many  thick  clouds  op- 
posed to  it,  are  the  reason  that  we  cannot  per- 
ceive it.  Love,  hatred,  fear,  hope,  grief,  joy,  and 
other  vicious  passions  filling  our  soul,  blind  it 
in  such  a  manner  that  it  sees  nothing  but  what  is 
sensible  and  suitable  to  it ;  refusing  all  thai  is  contra- 
ry to  its  own  inclinations :  and  being  thus  filled  with 
itself,  it  is  not  capable  of  receiving  the  light  of 
God."*  Now  there  can  be  no  question,  that  In- 
ward Recollection  secures  the  soul,  in  a  most  re- 
markable degree,  from  inordinate  passions.  Such 
passions  cannot  well  flourish,  with  the  eye  of  God 
distinctly  looking  upon  them.  And  accordingly, 
under  such  circumstances,  the  illuminative  sugges- 
tions of  the  Holy  Spirit  readily  enter  the  mind,  and 
operate  in  it,  and  reveal  the  divine  will.  So  that 
he,  who  walks  in  recollection,  may  reasonably  ex- 
pect to  walk  in  the  light  of  true  knowledge  and  of 
a  divine  guidance. 

And  not  only  this,  Inward  Recollection  tends  to 
concentrate,  and  consequently  to  stengthcn  very 
much  the  action  of  the  intellectual  powers.     It  docs 

•Bourignon's  Light  in  Darkness,  p.  14. 


INWARD  RECOLLECTION.  331 

this,  in  part,  and  indirectly,  by  disburdening  the 
mind  of  those  wandering  thoughts  and  unnecessa- 
ry cares  and  excitements,  which  with  scarcely  any 
exception  overrun  the  minds  of  those,  who  do  not 
live  in  a  recollected  state. 

(4.) — Another  favorable  result,  connected  with 
the  habit  of  inward  recollection,  is,  that,  by  confin- 
ing the  mind  to  the  present  moment,  and  retaining 
God  in  the  position  of  a  present  counsellor  and 
guide,  it  prevents  the  exercise  of  reflex  and  selfish 
acts  on  the  past,  and  also  undue  and  selfish  calcu- 
lations for  the  future.  Self,  if  we  permit  it,  will 
either  secretly  or  openly  find  nourishment  every 
where ;  and  every  where,  therefore,  we  are  to  fight 
against  it,  overcome  it,  slay  it. .  When  the  past  is 
gone  and  we  are  conscious  that  we  have  done  our 
duty  in  it,  if  we  would  not  have  the  life  of  self  im- 
bibing strength  from  that  source,  we  must  leave  it 
with  God  in  simplicity  of  spirit ;  and  not  suffer  it 
to  furnish  food  either  for  vanity  or  disheartening 
regrets.  We  should  avoid  also  all  undue  and  sel- 
fish calculations  for  the  future,  such  as  continually 
agitate  and  distract  the  minds  of  the  people  of  the 
world ;  and  indeed  all  thoughts  and  anticipations 
of  a  prospective  character,  which  do  not  flow  out 
of  the  facts  and  the  relations  of  the  present  mo- 
ment, and  which  are  not  sanctioned  by  a  present 
divine  inspection.  "Happy  is  the  man,"  says 
Fenelon,  "who  retains  nothing  in  his  mind,  but 
what  is  necessary ;  and  who  only  thinks  of  each 
thing  just  when  it  is  time  to  think  of  it  ;  so  that  it  is 
rather  God,  who  excites  the  perception  and  idea  of 


332  ON  THE  STATE  OF 

it,  by  an  impression  and  discovery  of  his  will 
which  we  must  perform,  than  the  mind's  being  at 
the  trouble  to  forecast  and  find  it."*  To  these  im- 
portant results,  there  can  be  no  question,  that  the 
habit  of  inward  recollection  is  exceedingly  favor- 
able. 

(5.) — Again,  we  have  good  reason  for  supposing, 
that  the  state  of  mind  under  consideration  is  emi- 
nently propitious  to  the  spirit  and  practice  of  prayer. 
There  certainly  can  be  no  acceptable  prayer  with- 
out a  considerable  degree  of  recollection.  And  the 
requirement  that  we  should  "pray  without  ceas- 
ing," seems  almost  necessarily  to  imply,  that  we 
should  always  be  in  a  recollected  state.  "He,  who 
is  always  dissipated,"  says  a  certain  writer,  "like 
a  house  open  to  all  comers  and  goers,  is  very  unfit 
for  prayer.  He,  that  will  never  pray,  but  in  the 
hour  that  calls  him  to  it,  will  never  do  it  well. 
But  he,  that  would  succeed  in  this  great  exercise, 
ought,  by  continual  recollection,  to  keep  himself 
always  ready,  and  in  an  actual  disposition  for 
praying."! 

Finally,  one  of  the  great  excellencies  of  the  state 
of  inward  recollection  is,  that  it  gives  us  the  place 
of  central  observation  and  power,  the  key,  if  we 
may  so  express  it,  to  the  position  of  the  religious 
Hfe ;  and  enables  us  to  exercise  an  effective  control 
over  its  whole  broad  extent.  That  is  to  say,  it 
places  us  in  the  most  favorable  position  to  discov- 
er and  meet   the    attacks  of  our   spiritual   adver- 

*Fenelon's  Directions  for  a  Holy  Life. 

t  Letter  of  Instruction  on  Christian  Perfection,  by  Francis  tie 
la  Combe. 


INWARD  RECOLLECTION.  333 

saries,  and  also  to  render  our  own  movements  and 
efforts  fully  available.  However  well  disposed 
may  be  our  intentions,  whatever  good  purposes  we 
may  have  formed,  whatever  may  be  the  formality 
and  solemnity  of  our  recorded  resolutions,  they  will 
ever  be  found  in  a  great  degree  useless,  without 
this  aid.  /It  will  be  in  vain  to  think  of  living  a 
life  of  true  religion,  a  life  in  which  God  himself  is 
the  inspiring  element,  without  a  present,  perma- 
nant,  and  realizing  sense  of  his  presence. »  It  is, 
therefore,  not  without  a  good  degree  of  reason,  that 
the  pious  Cecil  has  remarked,  that  "recollection 
is  the  life  of  religion." 


CHAPTER  THIRTIETH. 


On  growth  in  Holiness. 


If  a  person  is  holy,  how  can  he  be  more  holy  ? 
If  he  is  perfectly  holy  how  can  he  increase  in  holi- 
ness 7  These  are  questions,  Avhich  are  frequently 
asked,  and  which  it  is  desirable  satisfactorily  to 
answer. 

That  a  thing  may  be  perfect  in  its  nature,  and 
yet  be  susceptible  of  growth  or  advancement  in  de- 
gree, is,  I  suppose,  a  matter  of  common  observa- 
tion. An  oak,  when  it  first  rises  above  the  sur- 
face of  the  ground,  is  so  small  and  weak,  that  it 
may  be  easily  trodden  under  foot;  and  yet  it  is 
as  really  and  truly  an  oak,  as  when  it  subsequent- 
ly stands  forth  in  the  strength  and  stature  of  an 
hundred  years.  A  human  being  is  in  his  nature 
as  much  a  human  being  in  the  period  of  infancy, 
as  in  the  subsequent  expansion  and  growth  of 
manhood.  And  so  consider  a  man  in  relation  to 
any  intellectual  power  of  the  mind,  or  in  relation 
to  any  appetite  or  affection  of  the  mind,  and  the 
same  view  may  very  properly  be  taken.  A  person 
is  a  reasoner,  for  instance ;  he  understands  perfectly 
the  principles   and  process  of  reasoning,  and  he 


ON  GROWTH  IN  HOLINESS.  335 

may  be  able  to  apply  the  principles  and  process 
perfectly  in  a  given  case  ;  and  yet  under  the  favor- 
able influence  of  the  law  of  habit,  he  may  much 
increase  the  promptness  and  facility,  and  conse- 
quent perfection,  in  the  operations  of  this  mental 
faculty.  Again,  an  intemperate  man  may  become 
perfectly  temperate,  and  yet  we  all  know  the  gen- 
eral fact,  that  one,  who  is  thus  entirely  reformed 
from  intemperance,  is  more  likely  to  be  overcome 
by  temptation  in  the  earlier  periods  of  his  reforma- 
tion, than  when  subsequently  the  temperate  prin- 
ciple has  acquired  growth  and  strength. 

And  we  may  not  only  say  in  general  terms,  that 
there  may  be  a  growth  in  perfection,  but  may  as- 
sert further,  that  the  thing  which  is  most  perfect, 
if  it  be  susceptible  of  growth  at  all,  will  have  the 
most  sure  and  rapid  growth.  Which  grows  most 
and  in  the  best  manner,  the  flower  Avhich  is  whole 
and  perfect  in  its  incipient  state,  or  that  which  has 
a  canker  in  it,  or  is  otherwise  injured  and  defec- 
tive in  some  of  its  parts  7  Which  will  grow  the 
most  rapidly  and  symmetrically,  the  child  which 
is  perfect  in  its  infancy,  or  one  which  is  afflicted 
with  some  mal-formation  ?  Illustrations  and  facts 
of  this  kind  seem  to  make  it  clear  that  the  spiritu- 
ally renovated  state  of  mind,  which  is  variously 
called  holiness,  perfect  love,  and  sanctification,  may 
be  susceptible  of  growth  or  increase.  It  is  not 
only  evident  that  there  is  no  natural  or  physical 
impossibility  in  it,  but,  as  has  been  intimated,  we 
may  go  farther,  and  lay  it  down  as  a  general  truth, 
that  perfection  in  the  nature  of  a  thing  is  requisite 


336  ON  GROWTH  IN  HOLINESS. 

to  perfection  in  degree.  And  accordingly,  although 
it  is  possible  for  a  person  who  is  partially  holy  to 
grow  in  holiness,  a  person  who  is  entirely  holy, 
although  he  may  be  assailed  by  unfavorable  influ- 
ences outwardly,  will  grow  much  more.  The 
obstacles  to  growth  in  holiness  will  not  only  be 
much  less  in  the  latter  case  than  in  the  former ; 
but  that  inward  vitality,  which  is  necessary  to  the 
greatest  expansion  and  progress,  will  possess  a  pos- 
itive and  effective  power,  unknown  under  other 
circumstances. 

(II.) — These  views  not  only  commend  them- 
selves to  common  observation  and  the  lights  of 
human  reason,  but  we  remark,  in  the  second  place, 
that  they  are  also  fully  in  accordance  with  what 
we  are  taught  in  the  Scriptures.  We  learn  in  re- 
lation to  John  the  Baptist,  that  he  was  filled  with 
the  Holy  Ghost  from  his  birth,  and  that  consequent- 
ly he  was  sanctified  from  that  early  period.  But 
when  we  contemplate  him  in  after  life,  in  the 
temptations  and  labors  he  underwent,  in  his  faith- 
ful preaching,  in  his  stern  rebukes  of  wickedness 
in  high  places  as  well  as  low,  in  his  imprisonment, 
and  in  the  general  growth  and  expansion  of  his 
matured  and  consecrated  powers,  can  there  possi- 
bly be  any  difficulty  in  ascribing  to  him  a  growth 
in  holiness  7  Does  not  the  opposite  idea,  viz.,  that 
in  the  degree  of  holiness  he  was  not  more  advanc- 
ed than  at  the  period  of  his  birth,  carry  an  absurd- 
ity upon  the  very  face  of  it  7  And  we  may  re- 
mark further,  that  it  is  expressly  said  of  him,  "And 
the  child  grew,  and  waxed  strong  in  spirit."     The 


ON  GROWTH  IN  HOLfNESS.  66/ 

Savior  also  was  holy  from  the  very  beginning  of 
his  existence.  There  was  no  one  power,  either  of 
body  or  mind,  that  was  not  fully  sanctified.  But 
it  was  said  of  him,  in  terms  similar  to  those  applied 
to  John  the  Baptist,  Luke  2:  40:  "And  the  child 
grew,  and  waxed  strong  in  spirit,  filled  with  wis- 
dom, and  the  grace  of  God  was  upon  him."  And 
again  it  is  said  of  him,  in  the  same  chapter,  "  And 
Jesus  increased  in  wisdom  and  stature,  and  in  fa- 
vor with  God  and  man."  What  is  the  meaning  of 
this  increase  of  strength  in  spirit  1  And  how  could 
he  increase  in  the  favor  of  his  heavenly  Father,  if, 
with  the  increase  of  his  expanding  powers,  there 
was  not  also  a  corresponding  growth  in  holy  love  ? 
The  Scriptures  every  where  speak  of  growth. 
They  do  not  recognize  the  idea  of  standing  still ; 
and  all  those  passages,  which  require  growth  in 
grace  and  religious  knowledge,  are  as  applicable 
after  the  experience  of  sanctification  as  before.  ; 
"Let  us,  therefore,  as  many  as  be  perfect,  be  thus 
minded."  Philip.  3 :  15.  Be  thus  minded,  in  what 
respect?  The  answer  is  found  in  the  preceding 
verse,  viz.,  to  "  press  toward  the  mark  for  the  prize 
of  the  high  calling  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus."  "  Be 
ye,  therefore,  perfect,"  says  the  Savior,  "as  your 
Father  in  heaven  is  perfect."  This  remarkable  and 
most  impressive  command  evidently  implies  two 
things.  The  first  is,  that  we  should  be  perfect  in 
our  sphere ;  that  is  to  say,  in  our  perceptions,  our 
feelings,  our  purposes,  and  to  the  full  extent  of  all 
our  powers.  And  the  second  is,  that  we  should 
continually  expand,  in  accordance  with  that  law  of 
29 


338  ON  GROWTH  IN  HOLINESS. 

increase  which  is  a  part  of  the  nature  of  every  ration- 
al being,  our  capacity  of  feeUng  and  of  knowledge, 
whatever  it  may  be.  And  in  doing  this,  (that  is  to 
say,  on  the  supposition  of  its  being  done,)  we  fulfil 
the  command  absolutely,  so  far  as  the  nature  of  our 
mental  exercises  is  concerned ;  and  fulfil  it  by  ap- 
proximation, or  continual  expansion  and  growth, 
so  far  as  relates  to  their  degree.  It  is  thus  with  the 
angels  in  heaven.  They  are  holy  ;  but  are  always 
growing  in  holiness.  In  the  nature  of  their  exer- 
cises they  are  like  their  heavenly  Father,  and  per- 
fect as  he  is  perfect ;  but  in  relation  to  the  degree 
of  their  exercises,  they  can  be  said  to  be  perfect 
only  in  availing  themselves  of  every  possible  means 
of  approximation  and  growth.  Growth,  therefore, 
continual  advancement,  is  the  unalterable  law  of 
all  created,  holy  beings.  And  hence  it  is  further 
said  in  the  Scriptures,  in  expressions  that  are  full 
of  weighty  import,  "  For  whosoever  hath,  to  him 
shall  be  given,  and  he  shall  have  more  abundance  ; 
but  whosoever  hath  not,  from  him  shall  be  taken 
away  even  that  he  hath."  Matt.  13 :  12. 

(III.) — ^^Some  persons  may  admit  the  fact  of 
growth  in  holiness  after  the  experience  of  full  sanc- 
tification,  and  still  be  in  some  degree  of  perplexity 
as  to  the  manner  of  it.  We  proceed,  therefore,  in 
the  third  place,  without  promising  to  remove  this 
perplexity  altogether,  to  enter  into  some  explana- 
tions upon  this  topic.  Evangelical  holiness,  it  will 
be  recollected,  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than  perfect 
love.  Love  is  based,  in  part,  upon  knowledge,  and 
IS  necessarily  based  upon  it.     It  is  entirely  evident, 


ON  GEOWXn  IN  HOLINESS.  330 

that  we  can  never  love  an  object  of  which  we  have 
no  knowledge;  and  it  is  equally  so,  that,  in  pro- 
portion as  our  knowledge  extends,  we  have  a  wider 
intellectual  basis  for  the  action  of  this  prhiciple. 
And  accordingly  every  new  manifestation  of  God's 
character,  every  new  exhibition  of  his  attributes, 
every  additional  development  of  his  providences, 
will  furnish  new  occasions  for  accessions  of  love. 
It  is  the  privilege,  therefore,  of  a  person  perfected 
in  love,  and  consequently  a  holy  person,  to  increase 
in  holiness  in  exact  proportion  with  his  increase  in 
knowledge. 

Again,  it  is  well  known  that  there  is  a  great  law 
of  our  mental  nature,  termed  the  law  of  habit. 
The  law  is,  that  increased  facility  and  strength  of 
mental  action,  results  from  repetition  or  practice. 
There  does  not  appear  to  be  a  power  of  the  mind, 
either  intellectual  or  sensitive,  which  may  not  feel 
the  influence  of  this  law.  And  according  to  this 
law,  every  exercise  of  love,  when  the  exercises  are 
continuously  successive,  will  give  place  to  another, 
which  is  increased  in  strength.  And  hence  a  holy 
being,  (not  one  who  is  holy  to  day  and  sinning  to- 
morrow, and  so  on  alternately,)  but  a  holy  being, 
who  continues  to  be  so,  will  necessarily  go  on  from 
one  degree  of  strength  to  another.  And  we  may 
add,  by  way  of  illustration,  that  it  seems  to  be  the 
same  here,  as  it  is  in  regard  to  depravity.  Our 
theologians  assure  us,  that  man  is  by  nature  entire-: 
ly  depraved.  But  they  also  agree  in  asserting, 
that  entireness  of  depravity  does  not  preclude  the 
idea  of  growth  in  depravity.     They  admit  that  the 


340  ON  GROWTH  IN  HOLINESS. 

law  of  habit  strengthens  the  intensity  of  the  de- 
praved element.  A  depraved  man  is  more  depraved 
than  a  depraved  child ;  and  a  depraved  devil  is 
more  depraved  than  a  depraved  man.  If  theologi- 
ans generally  propound  as  sound  doctrine  the  idea 
of  growth  in  the  matter  of  depravity,  when  the 
depravity  is  entire,  it  would  be  difficult  to  show 
its  unsoundness  in  the  matter  of  holiness. 

And  there  is  another  important  consideration. 
There  are  grounds  for  the  remark,  that  we  may  in- 
directly increase  the  strength  of  holy  emotions  and 
desires,  by  a  removal  of  the  various  obstacles  which 
oppose  and  obstruct  their  exercise.  The  speed  of 
a  vessel  or  of  a  railroad  car  depends  not  only  upon 
the  amount  of  the  propelling  power,  whatever  that 
power  may  be,  but  also,  in  part,  upon  the  number 
and  greatness  of  the  obstacles  to  be  overcome.  If 
the  obstacles  are  many  and  great,  the  speed  will  be 
less.  Now  the  sanctified  person  is  continually  ac- 
quiring knowledge,  not  only  in  relation  to  the 
great  and  adorable  object  of  his  perfected  love,  but 
also  in  relation  to  his  own  physical  and  intellectu- 
al infirmities,  the  nature  of  temptations,  and  the 
subtle  arts  of  the  adversary  of  souls.  In  these  in- 
firmities, temptations,  and  evil  arts,  he  finds  very 
serious  obstacles  to  his  progress  in  holiness.  But 
every  day's  experience,  under  the  instructions  and 
guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  teaches  their  nature 
and  diminishes  their  power.  He  learns  where  his 
weakness  is,  and  understands  better  than  he  did  at 
first  how  to  counteract  it.  He  knows  the  artifices 
of  the  adversary,  the  insiduous  manner  of  his  ap- 


ON  GROWTH  IN  HOLINESS.  341 

proaches,  and  the  way  in  which  he  can  be  resisted 
^nd  defeated.  And  the  result  of  this  knowledge 
is,  that  many  serious  obstacles  which  existed  be- 
fore and  which  perplexed  his  progress,  are  remov- 
ed. His  increased  knowledge  of  the  character  of 
God,  the  influence  of  the  law  of  habit,  the  impart- 
ed influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  have  their  natural 
and  unobstructed  effect,  and  accelerate,  as  they 
would  not  do  under  other  circumstances,  the  as- 
cendant flight  of  the  soul. 

These  considerations  evidently  show,  that  the 
idea  of  growth  in  holiness,  when  the  heart  is  al- 
ready sanctified  to  God,  is  not  an  unreasonable  one. 
On  the  contrary,  it  would  seem  on  any  principles 
of  reason  applicable  to  the  case,  that  the  growth  of 
a  sanctified  soul  in  holiness  would  be  much  more 
rapid  than  that  of  a  soul  but  partially  sanctified. 
The  testimony  of  those,  who  have  arrived  at  the 
state  of  assurance  of  faith  and  perfected  love,  con- 
firms these  views.  Their  testimony  is,  that,  after 
having  reached  this  state,  their  growth  in  grace  is 
much  more  rapid  and  sure  than  it  was  before. 
They  are  conscious  of  increased  power  against 
temptation,  and  of  an  increase  of  union  with  the 
divine  will,  to  an  extent  unknown  in  their  previa 
ous  experience.  What  growth,  then,  must  there 
be  in  angel  minds,  which  are  neither  obstructed  by 
inward  nor  by  outward  evils  in  their  progress  ! 
What  expansion  with  each  revolving  day !  What 
increased  intensity  of  desire !  What  higher  and 
more  triumphant  energies  of  love  ! 

In  conclusion,  we  exhort  those,  who  are   sancti- 


342  ON  GROWTH  IN  HOLINESS. 

fied  to  the  Lord,  to  grow  abundantly  in  holiness. 
Of  two  persons,  both  of  whom  are  sanctified  per- 
sons, one  may  grow  in  holiness  more  rapidly  and 
surely  than  an  another.  This  is  an  important  fact, 
and  one  that  is  often  overlooked.  The  difference 
of  growth  in  holiness,  after  the  experience  of  sanc- 
tification,  seems  to  us  to  depend,  next  to  believing 
and  earnest  applications  for  divine  assistance,  upon 
growth  in  knowledge.  Little  claim  has  any  one 
to  the  character  of  a  holy  person,  who  is  willing  to 
be  ignorant.  We  have  not  reference  in  this  re- 
mark to  the  mere  knowledge  of  natural  things, 
which  oftentimes  perplexes  rather  than  promotes 
the  inward  life,  but  to  religious  knowledge ;  to  any 
thing  and  every  thing  which  throws  light  upon  tlie 
character,  providences,  and  the  will  of  God ;  and 
to  whatever  illustrates  the  character,  relations, 
and  moral  and  religious  duties  of  man.  /'Holiness, 
considered  in  its  full  extent,  is  a  great  study,  and 
he  only,  who  is  willing  to  be  a  diligent  and  faith- 
ful student,  will  understand  it.  Hence  we  are  told 
in  the  second  epistle  of  Peter,  that  God  hath  given 
us  all  things  that  pertain  unto  life  and  godliness, 
"through  the  knowledge  of  him  that  has  called  us 
to  glory  and  virtue  ;  "  and  are  directed  in  the  same 
chapter  to  add  "to  our  faith  virtue,  and  to  virtue 
knowledge," 


■M 


CHAPTER  THIRTY-FIRST. 


On  the   Coufeesiou  of  Sin. 


Should  those,  who  are  so  far  advanced  in  the  re- 
ligious life  as  to  be  justly  regarded  as  sanctified  or 
holy  persons,  confess  sin  1  This  is  a  question, 
which  is  sometimes  asked  with  a  degree  of  solici- 
tude and  from  good  motives.  And  besides,  it  is 
often  adduced  as  one  of  the  greatest  objections  to 
the  doctrine  of  the  realization  of  holiness  in  the 
present  life,  that  those,  who  have  experienced  it, 
ought  not  to,  and  cannot  confess  sin. 

FiKST.  The  confession  of  sin  during  the  whole 
course  of  the  present  life  is  exceedingly  proper,  for 
various  reasons  ;  and  in  the  first  place,  because  sin 
is  an  unspeakable  evil.  We  suppose  that  those, 
who  have  experienced  a  perfected  state  of  faith 
and  love,  will  understand  this  remark  more  fully 
than  others.  They  have  tasted  the  bitter  fruits  of 
sin ;  they  have  in  many  cases  endured  a  severe 
and  terrible  contest  in  driving  it  from  the  heart ; 
they  are  now  engaged  momentarily  in  a  constant 
warfare  to  prevent  its  re-entrance  ;  they  know  it  is 
the  one  great  thing  and  the  only  thing  which  sep- 
arates  the  soul  from  God ;  they  know  that  every 


344  ON  THE  CONFESSION  OF  SlN. 

sin,  even  the  smallest,  is  exceedingly  heinous  in 
God's  sight ;  they  feel  that  they  had  rather  die  a 
thousand  deaths,  than  voluntarily  commit  even 
the  smallest  sin.  Now  when  they  remember,  that 
during  a  considerable  portion  of  their  lives  they 
were  sinning  against  God  every  day  and  hour  ;  des- 
pising, injuring,  and  insulting  continually  that 
great  and  good  Being,  whom  now  their  hearts  as 
continually  adore,  they  are  penetrated  with  the 
deepest  grief.  They  never,  never  can  forget  the 
greatness  of  their  former  degradation  and  guilt. 
And,  in  their  present  state  of  mind,  they  never  can 
remember  it,  without  being,  at  each  distinct  retro- 
spection, deeply  humbled  and  penitent.  Indeed,  as 
true  confession  consists  much  more  in  the  state  of 
the  heart  than  in  the  expression  of  the  lips,  and  as 
the  surest  mark  of  true  confession  is  an  earnest  stri- 
ving after  the  opposite  of  that  which  is  confessed  as 
wrong,  those,  who  are  earnestly  seeking  and  prac- 
tising holiness,  may  be  said  in  the  highest  sense  of 
the  terms  to  be  always  acknowledging  and  always 
lamenting  their  sin.  Their  watching,  their  strife, 
their  warfare  is  against  sin,  as  the  evil  and  bitter 
thing  which  their  soul  hates  ;  and  which  their  souls 
shall  ever  hate  whenever  and  wherever  commit- 
ted, whether  by  themselves  or  others,  at  the  present 
time  or  in  times  past. 

SECOND.-Vl'here  is  a  propriety  and  a  practical 
importance  m  the  confession  of  sin,  during  the 
whole  course  of  the  present  life,  because  our  various 
infirmities,  our  defects  of  judgment,  our  frequent 
ignorance  of  the  motives  and  characters  of  our  fel- 


ON  THE  CONFESSION  OF  SIN.  345 

low-men,  and  the  relatively  wrong  acts  and  feel- 
ings which  originate  in  these  sources,  from  M'-liich 
no  one,  in  the  present  period  of  the  history  of 
the  church,  can  reasonably  expect  to  be  free,  require 
an  atonement,  as  well  as  our  wilful  or  voluntary 
transgressions.  We  do  not  suppose,  that  it  is  nec- 
essary here,  to  enter  into  an  argument  for  the  pur- 
pose of  showing,  that  such  imperfections,  originally 
flowing  from  our  fallen  condition  and  our  connec- 
tion with  Adam,  require  the  application  of  Christ's 
blood.  Such  is  not  only  our  own  belief;  but  we 
have  reason  to  believe,  that  it  is  a  doctrine  which 
is  generally  conceded  by  those,  who  will  be  likely 
to  take  an  interest  in  these  inquiries.  There  are 
various  passages  of  Scripture,  such  as  Lev.  4 :  3, 
and  Numb.  1.5  :  27-30,  which  have  relation  to  such 
infirmities  and  sins,  and  which  might  be  properly 
consulted,  if  the  present  were  an  occasion  to  enter 
into  a  minute  examination  of  the  subject. 

It  is  in  accordance  with  what  has  now  been  said, 
that  Christians,  who  are  well  established  in  the  inte- 
rior life,  whenever  they  have  fallen  into  such  errors 
and  infirmities,  experience  no  true  peace  of  mind, 
until  they  find  a  sense  of  forgiveness.  For  an  error 
in  judgment,  for  an  ill-placed  word  when  there  was 
no  evil  design  or  intention  of  saying  what  was 
wrong,  for  an  action  which  was  undesignedly  a 
mistaken  one  either  through  undue  remissness  or 
through  undue  haste,  for  any  unavoidable  blind- 
nesses and  ignorances  whatever,  which  are  follow- 
ed by  evil  and  unhappy  results,  they  find  no  re- 
source but  in  an  immediate  and  believing  applica- 


346  ON  THE  CONFESSION  OF  SIN. 

tion  to  the  atoning  blood.  It  is  true,  they  do  not 
ordinarily  have  those  bitter  feelings  of  condemna- 
tion and  remorse,  which  they  have,  when  they 
have  committed  a  deliberate  transgression ;  but 
they  feel  deep  humiliation  and  sorrow  of  heart ; 
they  see  the  results  of  sin  flowing  from  the  original 
rebellion  ;  and  have  what  may  perhaps  be  called 
an  instinctive  conviction,  that  the  occasion  is  a  fit- 
ting one  for  penitent  grief  and  for  humble  confes- 
sion. Now  as  such  infirmities  are  very  frequent, 
and  as  indeed  they  are  unavoidable,  so  long  as  we 
come  short  of  the  intellectual  and  physical  perfec- 
tion of  Adam,  we  shall  have  abundant  occasion  to 
confess  our  trespasses ;  and  it  will  ever  be  true, 
that  our  sin,  in  this  sense  of  the  term,  will  always 
be  before  us.  1= 

It  may  be  '  proper  to  remark  here,  that  it  was 
probably  in  this  view  of  the  subject  that  Mr.  Wes- 
ley, although  he  held  to  the  doctrine  of  Christian 
perfection  or  of  perfect  love,  did  not  hold  to  the 
doctrine  of  sinless  perfection.  /That  is  to  say,  he 
maintained  that  it  was  both  our  duty  and  our  priv- 
ilege to  love  God  with  all  our  heart ;  and  also  that 
this  state  of  mind,  viz.  of  assured  faith  and  perfect- 
ed love,  had  been  actually,  and  in  many  cases,  re- 
alized. He  maintained,  nevertheless,  that  this 
state  was  consistent  with  all  those  wrong  judg- 
ments which  are  involuntary  and  unavoidable, 
and  consequently  with  relatively  wrong  acts  and 
affections;  that  we  are  continually  liable  to  trans- 
gress in  the  respects  which  have  been  mentioned, 


ON  THE  CONFESSION  OF  SIN.  347 

even  while   we  are  in  a  state  of  perfect  love,  and 
that  the  best  of  men  may  say  from  the  heart, 

.-^Every  moment,  Lord,  I  need  j' 

"The  merit  of  thy  death."  / 

MJnder  these  circumstances,  he  thought  it  proper 
and  necessary,  that  even  persons,  who,  on  evan- 
gelical principles,  could  justly  lay  claim  to  the  bles- 
sing of  sanctification,  should  continually  humble 
themselves  before  God  and  make  confession.  This 
view  seems  to  be  correct.  And  it  is  very  desirable, 
when  we  look  at  it  in  its  practical  results,  as  well 
as  in  its  moral  relations,  that  it  should  continue  to 
be  maintained,  because  it  will  constantly  prompt 
us  not  only  to  seek  perfection  in  love,  which  is  the 
most  important  thing,  but  to  seek  perfection  in 
manners,  habits,  health,  words,  knowledge,  and  all 
good  judgment.  i 

Third.  /It  is  proper,  furthermore,  to  confess  our 
sins,  becaVise  there  may  be  sins  in  us,  and  not 
merely  those  which  result  from  infirmity  and  are 
involuntary,  which  are  seen  by  the  omniscient  eye 
of  God,  but  which  may  not  be  obvious  to  ourselves. 
We  have  no  doubt  that,  as  a  general  thing,  we  may 
rely  upon  our  consciousness  in  confirmation  of  the 
great  fact  of  perfection  in  love.  Certainly  it  is  a 
reasonable  idea,  that,  as  a  general  thing,  a  man 
may  know  in  himself  or  in  his  own  consciouness, 
whether  he  loves  God  or  not ;  and  whether  he 
loves  him  with  his  whole  heart  or  not.  At  the 
same  time  there  may  occasionally  be  cases,  in 
which  he  is  left  in  some  degree  of  doubt.  He  may 
through  the  influence  of  some  sudden  temptation, 
be  driven  so  closely  upon  the  line  which  separates 


348  ON  THE  CONFESSION  OF  SIN. 

rectitude  from  sin,  that  it  is  almost  impossible  for 
him  to  tell  whether  he  has  kept  within  it.  The 
Scriptures  also  recognize  the  great  deceitfulness  of 
the  human  heart.  Who,  then,  is  able,  either  on 
philosophical  or  scripture  principles,  to  assert,  ab- 
solutely and  unconditionally,  that  he  has  been  free 
from  sin,  at  least  for  any  great  length  of  time  7 
We  may,  therefore,  with  great  propriety,  even  if 
there  were  no  other  reason  but  this,  ask  the  for- 
giveness of  our  trespasses,  of  our  sins,  or  of  whatev- 
er God  sees  amiss  in  us.  And  it  is  unquestionably 
our  duty  so  to  do.    / 

/  We  may  add<4iere,  that  it  is  generally,  and  per- 
haps we  may  say,  universally  the  case,  that  those, 
who  give  good  evidence  of  being  in  that  state  which 
we  variously  describe  as  assurance  of  faitli  and  as 
perfect  love.and  which  involves  the  possession  of  the 
blessing  of  present  sanctification,  speak  of  their  state 
in  a  qualified,  rather  than  in  an  absolute  manner. 
In  other  words,  they  generally  express  themselves, 
(and  it  is  exceedingly  proper  that  they  should  do 
so,)  merely  as  if  they  hoped  or  had  reason  to  hope 
that  they  had  experienced  this  great  blessing,  and 
were  kept  free  from  voluntary  and  known  sin. 
Such  a  mode  of  expression  seems  to  be  unobjection- 
able ;  it  is  consistent  with  confession,  and  corres- 
ponds to  the  precise  state  of  the  case. 

Fourth. — It  is  proper  and  important  also  to  ac- 
knowledge our  having  sinned  against  God  and  to 
humble  ourselves  before  hnn  on  account  of  sin,  be- 
cause we  are  thus  continually  reminded  of  the  un- 
s])eakable  condescension  and  mercy  of  God  as  man- 
ifested in  the  atoning  sacrifice  of  Jesus  Christ.     It 


ON  THE  CONFESSION  OF  SIN.  349 

is  impossible,  that  a  truly  holy  mind,  one  that  has 
deeply  felt  the  living  God  within,  should  ever  for- 
get the  depth  of  its  former  degradation,  however 
different  and  however  encouraging  maybe  its  pres- 
ent state.  And  whenever  it  calls  to  recollection  its 
former  pollution,  it  cannot  be  otherwise  than  deeply 
impressed  with  a  sense  of  the  Savior's  wonderful 
goodness  and  love.  May  we  not  even  conjecture, 
that  it  will  be  our  privilege  through  all  eternity  to 
remember  and  to  confess  our  former  fallen  state? 
Even  in  heaven,  renewed  and  purified  as  we  shall 
be,  we  shall,  in  one  sense  at  least,  be  sinners  saved 
by  grace';  and  shall  undoubtedly  repeat  with  joy 
the  song  of  the  ransomed,  "Thou  wast  slain,  and 
hast  redeemed  us  to  God  by  thy  blood,  out  of  every 
khidred,  and  tongue,  and  people,  and  nation." 

With  these  considerations  we  leave  the  subject, 
after  a  single  remark  further.  While  it  is  proper 
for  all  to  make  a  confession  during  life  it  is  never- 
theless true,  that  the  mind  of  a  person,  who  is  truly 
in  a  sanctified  state,  is  chiefly  occupied  with  sup- 
plications and  thanksgivings.  Such  persons  may 
be  said  for  the  most  part  to  be  always  praying,  al- 
ways supplicating,  and  in  every  thing  giving 
thanks.  The  state  of  those,  who  possess  this  bles- 
sing, is  very  diflerent  from  the  condition  of  persons, 
who  have  nothing  but  their  sins  to  speak  of.  SucIj 
is  their  peace  of  mind,  such  their  delight  in  God's 
character,  such  their  sense  of  inward  purity,  such 
their  conformity  to  God's  will,  that  their  prevalent 
state  must  necessarily  be  one  of  divine  communion 
and  of  holy  rejoicing 
30 


J 


CHAPTER  THIRTY-SECOND. 


Remarks  ou  interior  trials  and  desolations- 

It  is  perhaps  a  common  opinion,  that  those,  who 
are  greatly  advanced  in  rehgion,  and  have  expe- 
rienced what  may  properly  be  regarded  as  the 
grace  of  present  sanctification,  are  not  very  much 
tried  and  afflicted.  They  are  supposed  to  possess 
not  only  an  inheritance  of  constant  peace,  but  of 
much  joy. 

That  a  truly  sanctified  person  is  never  in  dark- 
ness, in  one  sense  of  the  term,  viz.  condemnatory 
darkness  ;  in  other  words,  that  he  never  loses  the 
grace  of  a  confiding  trust  in  God  and  of  solid  in- 
ternal peace,  Avhich  his  Savior  has  given  to  him  as 
his  inheritance,  is  undoubtedly  true.  If  there  ever 
be  an  exception,  as  for  instance  when  the  mental 
powers  are  depressed  and  darkened  by  the  pressure 
of  some  physical  disease,  yet  such  exceptions  are, 
probably,  few  in  number,  are  explainable  on  prin- 
ciples peculiar  to  themselves,  and  are  not  to  be  re- 
garded as  essentially  affecting  the  general  doctrine. 

But  although  those,  who  are  wholly  devoted  to 
God,  may  be  said  always  to  have  a  solid  and  per- 
manent peace,  it  is  not  true,  that  they  are  exempt 


ON   INTERIOR    TRIALS    AND   DESOLATIONS.  351 

from  heavy  afflictions  both  external  and  internal. 
On  the  contrary,  there  is  some  reason  to  believe, 
that  those,  who  love  most,  will  suffer  most ;  that 
those,  'who  are  the  strongest  in  the  Lord,  will 
have  the  heaviest  burden  to  bear.  "In  the  world," 
says  the  Savior, "ye  shall  have  tribulation."  "For 
unto  you  it  is  given  in  the  behalf  of  Christ, "says 
the  Apostle,  in  his  epistle  to  the  Philippians,"not 
only  to  believe  on  him,  but  also  to  suffer  for  his 
sake."  It  is  important  to  understand  this,  to  know 
that  it  is  our  lot  and  our  privilege  to  be  partakers 
of  Christ's  sufferings,  so  that  those,  who  enter  into 
the  way  of  holy  living,  which  is  just  what  it  is 
described  to  be,  viz.  a  narrow  way,  may  not  be 
discouraged  and  overcome  in  the  season  of  heavy 
trial.  Satan  will  say  to  them  at  such  times. 
Where  now  is  your  God  7  And  it  is  exceedingly 
desirable,  that  they  should  know  how  to  answer  him. 
First. — It  is  reasonable  to  suppose,  that  a  holy 
soul,  one  that  has  experienced  the  richness  of 
sanctifying  grace,  will  oftentimes  be  much  afflicted 
in  consequence  of  not  finding  in  others  a  spirit  cor- 
responding to  its  own.  In  the  present  state  of  the 
world,  when  practical  holiness  is  but  partially  un- 
derstood and  still  less  realized,  such  a  soul,  al- 
though the  social  principle  remains  strong  in  it,  is 
necessarily  solitary  to  a  considerable  degree.  How 
can  it  enter  with  spirit  and  eagerness  into  worldly 
conversation  ?  How  can  it  participate  with  any 
degree  of  relish  in  vain  worldly  amusements  and 
pleasures  ?  Such  souls  are  sometimes  borne  down 
with  the  desire  of  imparting  to  others  the  spiritual 


352  REMARKS    OX   INTERIOR 

tidings,  which  God  has  inwardly  communicated  to 
them.  But  they  find  few,  and  perhaps  none  that 
are  ready  and  wiUing  to  hear  them.  And  thus 
they  sit  alone  in  secret  places,  and  shed  in  silence 
the  solitary  tear. 

Second  — They  are  afflicted  in  view  of  the  con- 
dition of  the  Church.  With  all  disposition  to  be 
grateful  for  what  amount  of  piety  there  is,  and  al- 
so to  make  all  due  allowance  for  the  deficiences 
that  exist,  they  perceive  and  cannot  help  perceiving 
that  the  Church  is,  to  a  considerable  extent,  in  bon- 
dage. They  see,  very  distinctly,  that  she  lives  far 
below  her  duties  and  privileges  ;  those  duties  and 
privileges  to  which  her  God  calls  her.  It  is  their 
sympathy  with  the  Divine  mind,  as  well  as  their 
sorrow  for  the  Church,  which  affects  them.  How 
can  they  possibly  be  without  grief,  in  view'  of  the 
insulted  honor  and  the  disregarded  beneficence  of 
the  God  whom  they  love  1  And  if  this  were  possi- 
ble, as  it  certainly  cannot  be,  how  is  it  possible  for 
them  to  refrain  from  weeping,  when  the  Church, 
for  whom  their  bleeding  Savior  has  purchased  gar- 
ments of  light,  voluntarily  walk  in  sordid  and  de- 
filed habiliments  ? 

Third. — They  have  feelings  of  deep  compassion 
and  sorrow  for  sinners,  which  others  have  not. 
We  would  not  assert,  that  these  feelings  are  al- 
ways stronger  than  those  of  other  persons  ; 
but  they  appear  to  be  more  deeply  rooted 
in  the  mind  ;  more  thoroughly  based  upon 
principle  ;  more  permanent  and  unchangeable. 
In  view  of  the   situation  of    sinners,    they    may 


TRIALS  AND  DESOLATIONS.  353 

even  be  said  to  have  continual  heaviness ;  not  a 
heaviness  which  is  periodical  ;  which  goes  and 
comes  with  a  change  of  circumstances;  but  is,  at 
least,  in  a  modified  sense  of  the  term,  continual. 
There  is  this  peculiarity,  however,  that  their  sor- 
row, however  deep  it  may  be,  is  always  calm. 
While  they  think  much  of  sinners,  they  think  more 
of  God.  And  they  know  that  God  will  be  glorified, 
though  sinners  are  destroyed.  This  consideration 
imparts  a  tranquillity  of  mind,  which  may  some- 
times be  supposed  to  originate  in  absence  of  feeling. 
This  calm,  deep-rooted  sorrow,  in  view  of  the  dan- 
ger of  sinners  and  of  the  dishonor  which  they  put 
upon  God,  although,  in  accordance  with  the  laws 
of  the  human  mind,  it  has  its  alternations  with 
other  feelings,  and  is  subject  to  occasional  varia- 
tions, may  yet  be  said,  with  a  high  degree  of  truth, 
to  be  always  with  them.  It  is  in  this  respect  pe- 
culiarly, that  they  may  be  said  to  sympathize  with 
the  blessed  Savior  in  bearing  the  burden  of  the 
cross ;  since  there  can  be  no  doubt,  that  it  was  on 
account  of  others  far  more  than  his  own,  that  he 
was  afflicted  in  the  world,  was  "a  man  of  sorrows 
and  acquainted  with  grief." 

Fourth. — But  this  is  not  all.  God  sometimes 
sees  fit  to  impose  upon  these,  his  beloved  children, 
internal,  as  Avell  as  external  crosses.  There  seems 
to  be  almost  a  necessity  for  this.  "The  life,  which 
they  now  live,  .they  live  by  faith  on  the  Son  of 
God."  The  Christian  life  is  truly  and  emphatical- 
ly a  life  of  faith.  A  life  of  faith  is  necessarily  the 
opposite  of  a  life  of  direct  vision.  And  how  can 
SO* 


354  REMARKS  ON  INTERIOR 

the  principle  of  faith  operate,  much  more  how  can 
it  acquire  strength,  unless  God  shall  at  times  with- 
draw himself  from  the  direct  vision,  and  leave  the 
soul  to  its  own  obscurity  7  If  a  man,  wishing  to 
test  the  spirit  of  obedience  in  his  son,  commands 
the  son  to  follow  him  in  a  certain  direction,  does 
he  not  render  his  own  test  unavailable,  by  taking 
him  by  the  hand  and  dragging  him  along  1  And 
so  our  heavenly  Father,  if  he  wishes  to  test  and  to 
strengthen  our  faith,  must  he  not  sometimes  take 
us  out  of  the  region  of  openness  and  clearness  of 
sight,  and  place  us  in  the  midst  of  entanglements, 
uncertainties,  and  shadows?  What  we  need, 
what  we  must  have,  what  is  absolutely  indispen- 
sable to  our  interior  salvation,  is  faith  ;  faith  which 
gives  the  victory ;  faith  strong,  unwavering,  ada- 
mantine. It  was  by  want  of  faith  that  we  fell ; 
it  is  by  want  of  faith  that  we  are  kept  in  continual 
bondage ;  and  it  is  only  by  the  restoration  of  faith 
that  we  can  sunder  the  chains  that  shackle  us,  and 
walk  forth  in  spiritual  freedom.  But  faith  can 
never  arise  to  that  degree  of  invigoration,  which 
our  necessities  so  imperiously  demand,  while  we 
are  permitted  to  walk  continually  in  the  field  of 
open  vision  and  under  the  sunlight  of  present  man- 
ifestations. Hence  there  seems  to  be  a  necessity, 
that  he  who  has  made  us  and  who  loves  us  with 
an  infinity  of  love,  should,  nevertheless,  sometimes 
wrap  himself  in  the  majesty  of  uncreated  darkness, 
in  order  that  we  may  learn  the  great  lesson  of  fol- 
lowing God  without  seeing  Him,  and  of  appreciat- 


TRIALS  AND  DESOLATIONS.  355 

ing  his  uttered  word,  his  simple  declaration,  at  the 
same  value  with  his  manifested  realities  and  acts. 

It  is  here,  then,  that  we  find  the  secret  reason, 
that  God  sees  fit  to  leave  to  interior  desolations 
and  sorrows  those,  who  are  truly  his  sanctified 
people.  Hence  it  is,  that  he  not  only  shows  us  the 
vanities  of  the  world,  and  the  desolations  of  the 
church,  the  present  and  prospective  wretchedness 
of  impenitent  sinners,  a  burden  without  any  thing 
else  to  enhance  it  which  is  heavy  to  be  borne ;  but 
he  also  withdraws  at  times  the  light  of  present 
manifestations;  he  withholds  the  comfort  of  in- 
ward sensible  joys ;  he  leaves  the  understanding, 
and  even  at  times  the  affections  in  a  painful  state 
of  comparative  inertness  and  aridity;  he  permits 
Satan,  in  addition  to  these  fearful  evils,  to  assail 
us  with  his  fiery  darts,  injecting  into  the  intellect  a 
multitude  of  unholy  thoughts,  and  besieging  us 
continually  with  sharp  and  varied  temptations. 
But  there  still  remains  the  blessed  privilege  of  be- 
lieving. We  can  still  say,  our  expectation  is  from 
the  Lord,  We  still  have  the  privilege  of  declaring, 
even  in  the  deep  dejection  and  brokenness  of  our 
hearts,  "Though  he  slay  me,  yet  will  I  trust 
in   him." 

Happy  are  they,  who  endure  these  grievous  tri- 
als without  shrinking.  Thrice  happy,  who  like 
soldiers  in  a  severe  contest  that  have  lost  all  but 
honor,  can  still  assert,  the  enemy  has  not  taken 
the  standard  with  which  they  went  into  battle ; 
and  that  in  the  loss  of  all  things  else,  they  still  re- 
tain their  confidence  in  God.     Such  souls  are  not 


356  THE  TRIAL  OF  CHRISTIAN  FAITH. 

only  redeemed,  but  purified.  They  have  passed 
the  decisive  test,  the  object  of  which  is  to  ascertain 
whether  they  love  God  for  himself  or  for  his  favors, 
and  have  not  been  found  wanting.  If  there  were 
dross  upon  them  before,  it  has  been  burnt  off  in 
this  fiery  trial.  In  the  purification  and  strengthen- 
ing of  our  faith,  (that  glorious  principle  which 
unites  us  to  God,  and  which  opens  in  the  heart  the 
full  fountains  of  submission,  gratitude,  and  love,) 
we  are  recompensed,  and  more  than  recompensed, 
for  the  temporary  loss  of  all  outward  goods  and  all 
interior  consolations.  Henceforth  there  is  union 
between  the  soul  and  its  Beloved.  It  has  no  more 
occasion  to  say,  "  My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou 
forsaken  me  7"  He  returns  with  assurances,  that 
wipe  away  present  tears,  and  give  the  presage  of 
future  victories.  God,  in  his  condescension,  per- 
mits himself  to  be  conquered.  Infinite  love  is  led 
captive. 

[  In  connection  with  the  remarks  of  this  chapter,  vrc  take  the 
liberty  to  introduce  to  the  reader  some  stanzas  of  Madame  Guyon, 
translated  into  English  by  the  poet  Cowper,  which  seem  in  a  hap- 
py manner  to  express  the  state  of  a  soul,  which  is  temporarily  left 
to  iQlerior  desolations.] 


The  trial  of  Christian  Faith. 


'T  was  my  purpose,  on  a  day 

To  embark  and  sail  away : 

As  I  climbed  the  vessel's  side, 

Love  was  sporting  in  the  tide. 

"Come,"  he  said, — "ascend — make  haste, 

Launch  into  the  boundless  waste." 


THE    TRIAL    OF    CHRISTIAN   FAITH.  35  ( 

Many  mariners  were  there, 
Having  each  his  separate  care  ; 
They,  that  rowed  us,  held  their  eyes 
Fixed  upon  the  starry  skies  ; 
Others  steer'd,  or  turn'd  the  sails 
To  receive  the  shifting  gales. 

Love,  with  power  divine  supplied, 
Suddenly  my  courage  tried  ; 
In  a  moment  it  was  night  ; 
Ships  and  skies  were  out  of  sight, 
On  the  briny  wave  I  lay. 
Floating  rushes  all  my  stay. 

Did  I  with  resentment  burn 

At  this  unexpected  turn  ? 

Did  I  wish  myself  on  shore, 

Never  to  forsake  it  more  ? 

No — "My  soul" — I  cried,  "be  still  ; 

Iflmustbelost,  I  will." 

Next  he  hasten'd  to  convey 
Both  my  frail  supports  away  ; 
Seized  my  rushes  ;  bade  the  waves 
Yawn  into  a  thousand  graves  ; 
Down  I  went  and  sunk  as  lead, 
Ocean  closing  o'er  my  head. 

Still,  however,  life  was  safe  ; 
And  I  saw  him  turn  and  laugh  ; 
"Friend,"he  cried, "adieu  !  lie  low, 
Wliile  the  wint'ry  storms  shall  blow  ; 
When  the  spring  has  calm'd  the  main, 
You  shall  rise  and  float  again." 

Soon  I  saw  him,  with  dismay, 
Spread  his  wings  and  soar  away  ; 
Now  I  marked  his  rapid  flight  ; 
Now  he  leaves  my  aching  sight  ; 
He  is  gone,  whom  I  adore  ; 
'T  is  in  vain  to  seek  him  more. 


358  THE   TRIAL    OF    CHRISTIAN   FAITH. 

How  I  trembled,  then,  and  fear'd 
When  my  love  had  disappear'd  ! 
"Will  thou  leave  me  thus,"I  cried, 
'"■Wlielm'd  beneath  the  rolling  tide  ?" 
Vain  attempt  to  reach  his  car  ! 
Love  was  gone,  and  would  not  hear. 

Ah !  return  and  love  me  still  j 

See  me  subject  to  thy  will  ; 

Frown  with  wrath,  or  smile  with  grace, 

Only  let  me  see  thy  face  ! 

Evil  I  have  none  to  fear  ; 

All  is  good,  if  thou  art  near. 

Yet  he  leaves  me— cruel  fate  ! 
Leaves  me  in  my  lost  estate — 
Have  I  sinn'd  ?  0,  say  wherein  ; 
Tell  me  and  forgive  my  sin  ! 
King,  and  Lord,  whom  I  adore, 
Shall  I  see  thy  face  no  more  ? 

Be  not  angry  ;  I  resign, 
Henceforth,  all  my  will  to  thine  ; 
I  consent  that  thou  depart. 
Though  thine  absence  break  my  heart 
Go,  then,  and  for  ever  too  ; 
All  is  right,  that  thou  wilt  do. 

This  was  just  what  love  intended  : 
He  was  now  no  more  offended  ; 
Soon  as  I  became  a  child. 
Love  return'd  to  me  and  smiled  ; 
Never  strife  shall  more  betide, 
'Twixt  the  Bridegroom  and  his  Bride. 


CHAPTER   THIRTY-THIRD. 

On  the  necessity  of  possessing  the  Gifts  and  Graces  of 
God  in  purity  of  spirit. 

It  is  difficult  to  express  and  even  to  conceive  of 
the  subtleties  and  insinuations  of  selfishness.  It 
enters  every  path.  It  lurks  in  every  secret  place. 
And  wherever  it  finds  its  way,  it  pollutes,  poisons, 
and  destroys.  It  sometimes  attaches  itself  by  a 
process  almost  imperceptible,  to  God's  most  valu- 
able gifts  and  graces;  those  which  are  spiritual, 
as  well  as  those  which  are  natural.  An  individual, 
for  instance,  is  possessed  of  great  natural  ability. 
This  ability  is  a  gift  of  God.  But  how  often  it  is, 
that  the  possessor,  thinking  but  little  of  the  great 
Author  of  the  gift,  regards  it  as  something  peculiar- 
ly his  own,  and  mstead  of  seeing  God  in  it,  sees 
only  himself.  Almost  unconsciously  to  himself, 
and  greatly  to  his  spiritual  injury,  he  is  experien- 
cing a  secret  elevation  of  spirit,  and  is  taking  a 
hidden  complacency  in  an  intellectual  possession, 
which,  when  properly  considered,  should  have  in- 
creasingly detached  him  from  self,  and  led  him 
nearer  to  his  Maker. 

But  what  is  surprising  and  almost  inexplicable, 


360     ON   THE   NECESSITY  OF    POSSESSING   THE    GIFTS 

there  is  danger  of  the  same  insinuating  and  infec- 
tious influence,  attaching  itself  even  to  the  spirit- 
ual gifts  of  God.  A  man,  for  instance,  is  endowed, 
through  the  operations  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  with  the 
invaluable  grace  of  humility.  He  ascribes  nothing 
to  himself.  He  takes  a  low  place  ;  and  he  feels 
that  he  ought  to  take  a  low  place  before  God. 
But  before  he  is  aware  of  it,  self-love  is  secretly 
winding  itself  about  this  ennobling  Christian  affec- 
tion, and  endeavoring  to  extract  some  personal 
merit  out  of  it.  There  is  a  secret  and  almost  im- 
perceptible feeling,  (for  in  this  matter  Satan  is 
careful  not  to  show  himself  too  prominently,) 
not  only  that  his  humility  is  some  evidence  in  his 
favor,  but  that  his  humility  itself  is  worth  some- 
thing. 

Again,  how  often  it  is  that  the  man  who  posses- 
ses true  Christian  benevolence,  is  assailed  in  the 
same  insidious  way  !  There  is  no  question  that 
he  is  truly  benevolent  and  benevolent  too  on  the 
highest  christian  principles  ;  but  after  a  time  he 
begins,  almost  unconsciously  to  himself,  to  poison 
this  eminent  Christian  grace  by  an  infusion  of  self- 
gratulation.  Even  the  missionary  of  the  Cross,  lis 
he  toils  beneath  the  frozen  skies  of  Greenland  or 
amid  the  burning  sands  of  Africa,  finds  the  secret 
but  deceptive  suggestion  springing  up,  he  hardh^ 
knows  whence  or  how,  that  his  life  of  toil  and 
suffering  has  some  little  merit,  which  he  can  call 
his  own. 

And  similar  results  may  be  noticed  in  other  ca- 
ses.    The  soul,  charmed  by  some  soothing  and  in- 


AND  GRACES  OF  GOD  IN  PURITY  OF  SPIRIT.         361 

sidious  whispers,  begins  to  lull,  itself  to  rest  and  to 
repose  upon  the  couch  of  its  own  virtues,  its  hu- 
mility, its  gratitude,  its  inviolable  veracity,  its  be- 
nevolence, or  some  other  moral  and  christian  grace, 
instead  of  resting  exclusively  upon  the  merits  of 
Christ,  and  ascribing  all  its  gifts  and  graces  to  the 
mere  mercy  of  God.  These  views  will  apply  es- 
sentially, among  other  things,  to  joyous  states  of 
mind.  The  Scriptures  abundantly  assure  us,  that 
there  is  such  a  state  of  mind  as  holy  joy.  Bat 
true  joy,  "the  joy  of  the  Holy  Ghost,"  flows  up 
and  refreshes  the  inward  heart  as  a  pure  fountain, 
only  so  long  as  the  soul  is  fixed  upon  God,  as  the 
centre  of  its  thought  and  of  its  undivided  affection. 
As  soon  as  we  begin  to  think  how  happy  we  are, 
and  to  dwell  upon  and  to  please  ourselves  with 
the  thought,  the  joy  itself  becomes  an  offence,  and 
diffuses  a  secret,  but  destructive  influence  through 
the  inward  life.  To  be  happy  in  our  own  happi- 
ness, instead  of  being  happy  in  God,  is  to  drink 
from  a  cistern  of  our  own  construction,  -'a  broken 
cistern  which  can  hold  no  water."  Audit  is  in  con- 
nection with  such  views  and  facts,  that  Fenelon 
ha^  very  correctly  said,  that  "the  most  eminent  gra- 
ces are  the  most  deadly  poisons,  if  we  rest  in  them 
and  regard  them  with  complacency."  "It  is  the 
sin"  he  adds,  "of  the  fallen  angels;  they  only  turned 
to  themselves,  and  regarded  with  complacency  their  state; 
at  that  instant  they  fell  from  heaven,  and  became  the  en- 
emies of  God.^' 

It  is  exceedingly   important,    therefore,    that  all 
the  Christian  gifts  and  graces  should  be  possessed 
81 


362      ON  THE  NECESSITY  OF  POSSESSING  THE  GIFTS 

in  purity  of  spirit,  uncoutaminated  by  any  unholy 
mixtures  of  an  earthly  nature.  The  mere  sugges- 
tion, that  they  have  merit  of  themselves  and  sep- 
arate from  the  God  who  gives  them,  if  it  be  receiv- 
ed with  the  least  complacency,  necessarily  inflicts 
a  deep  wound.  They  are,  accordingly,  held  in  pu- 
rity of  spirit  and  with  the  divine  approbation,  only 
when  their  tendency  is  to  separate  the  soul  from 
every  thing  inward  and  outward,  considered  as  ob- 
jects of  complacency  and  of  spiritual  rest,  and  to 
unite  it  more  and  more  closely  to  God.  In  the 
language  of  the  writer  just  now  referred  to,  "we 
must  sacrifice  even  the  gifts  of  God;"  that  is  to  say, 
we  must  cease  to  regard  them  and  to  take  compla- 
cency in  them,  in  themselves  considered,  that  we 
may  have  God  himself.  We  do  not  find  the  pa- 
rent, who  has  that  degree  of  affection  for  his  child, 
which  may  be  called  entire  or  perfect  love,  ma- 
king his  love  a  distinct  object  of  his  thoughts,  and 
rejoicing  in  it,  as  such  a  distinct  object;  that  would 
not  be  the  genuine  operation  of  perfect  love.  If  his 
love  is  perfect,  he  has  no  time  and  no  disposition 
to  think  of  any  thing  but  the  beloved  object,  to- 
wards which  his  affections  are  directed.  His  love 
is  so  deep,  so  pure,  so  fixed  and  centred  upon  one 
point,  that  the  sight  of  self  and  of  his  own  person- 
al exercises,  is  lost.  It  ought  to  be  thus  in  the 
feelings,  which  we  exercise  towards  God ;  and  un- 
doubtedly such  will  be  the  result,  when  the  reli- 
gious feeling  has  reached  a  certain  degree  of  intensi- 
ty. That  is  to  say,  when  the  feeling  is  perfect,  the 
mind  is  not   occupied   with  the  feeling  itself,    but 


AND  GCACES  OF  GOD  IN  PURITY  OF  SPIRIT.  303 

with  the  object  of  the  feehng.  The  heart,  if  we 
may  so  express  it,  seems  to  recede  from  us;  it  cer- 
tainly does  so  as  an  object  of  distinct  contempla- 
tion ;  and  the  object  of  its  affections  comes  in  and 
takes  its  place.  Oh  the  blessedness  of  the  heart, 
that,  free  from  self  and  its  secret  and  pernicious 
influences,  sees  nothing  but  God ;  that  recognizes, 
even  in  its  highest  gifts  and  graces,  nothing  but 
God ;  that  would  rather  be  infinitely  miserable 
with  God,  if  it  were  possible,  than  mfinitely  happy 
without  him. 

In  connection  with  these  remarks  we  are  enabled 
to  understand  and  appreciate  the  state  of  mind, 
which  is  described  in  some  primitive  writers  on 
Ulterior  experience,  as  a  state  of  cessation  from 
''reflex  acts."  By  reflex  acts,  as  we  employ 
the  phrase  here  and  as  it  appears  to  be  employed 
by  the  writers  referred  to,  we  mean  those  acts  of 
the  mind,  in  which  the  soul  turns  inward  upon  it- 
self; and  ceasing  for  a  time  to  regard  the  mere 
will  of  God  as  the  only  good,  takes  a  self-conscious 
satisfaction  in  its  own  exercises.  Such  acts,  when 
they  are  indulged  in,  stand  directly  in  the  way  of 
the  highest  results  of  the  religious  life.  On  the 
other  hand,  he,  who  has  entirely  ceased  to  put 
forth  acts  of  this  kind,  and  loves  God  to  the  entire 
forgetfulness  of  self,  losing  sight  even  of  his  own 
exercises,  in  consequence  of  being  fully  occupied 
with  an  infinitely  higher  object,  has  reached  the 
broad  and  calm  position  of  spiritual  rest,  the  re- 
gion of  inward  and  abiding  peace.  A  region, 
where  there  is  no  noisy  clamor ;  no  outcries  and 


364     ON  POSSESSING  THE  GIFTS  OF  GOD  IN  PURITY. 

contests  of  the  passions;  no  contrivances  of  preju- 
dice, interest,  and  ambition;  no  rebellious  sighing 
and  tears  of  the  natural  spirit ;  but  all  is  hushed  and 
lost  in  the  one  deep  conviction,  that  there  is  noth- 
ing good,  nothing  permanently  true,  nothing  desir- 
able, no,  not  in  heaven  itself,  but  pure  and  ever- 
lasting union  with  the  will  of  God.  Of  such  a  soul 
it  may  be  said  eminently,  that  it  holds  the  gifts  of 
God  in  purity  ;  since  it  loses  the  distinct  perception 
and  knowledge  of  the  gifts,  in  the  consciousness  of 
union  with  the  Giver. 


I. 
They  say  their  path  wit  h  flowers  is  strown, 

And  all  their  way  is  bright ; 
But  as  for  me,  I  walk  alone, 

Encircled  with  the  night. 
But  do  not  think  my  joy  the  less, 

Oh,  no !  I  love  to  be 
Abandoned,  in  my  helplessness, 

To  deep  obscurity. 
II. 
I  love  the  thunder's  voice  to  hear, 

To  see  the  lightnings  play  ; 
And  smile,  when  many  a  danger  near 

Comes  thronging  round  my  way. 
'Tis  then  all  human  help  is  vain, 

All  human  hopes  o'erthrown  ; 
And,  in  my  great  necessity, 

I  REST  IN  GOD  ALONE. 


CHAPTER  THIRTY-FOURTH. 


On  the  principle  of  inward  qnietude  or  stillness. 


We  proceed  in  this  chapter  to  lay  down  and  ex- 
plain a  principle,  which  is  more  or  less  distinctly 
recognized  by  writers  on  Christian  experience ; 
and  which,  by  the  common  consent  of  those  who 
have  examined  it,  is  very  intimately  connected 
with  the  progress  and  perfection  of  the  interior 
Christian  life.  The  principle  is  that  of  inward 
QUIETUDE  or  STILLNESS,  ;  in  other,  words,  a  true  and 
practical  ceasing  from  self. 

First.  —  This  principle  involves,  in  the  first 
place,  a  cessation  from  all  inordinate  and  selfish 
outward  activity.  It  does  not,  it  will  be  remem- 
bered, exclude  an  outward  activity  of  the  right 
kind.  To  entertain  any  idea  of  this  kind,  would 
be  a  great  error.  But  it  disapproves  and  condemns 
that  spirit  of  worldly  movement  and  progress,  that 
calculating  and  self-interested  activity,  that  run- 
ning to  and  fro  without  seriously  looking  to  God  and 
without  a  quiet  confidence  in  Him,  which  has  been 
in  all  ages  of  the  world  the  dishonor  and  the  bane 
of  true  Christianity.  How  much  of  what  may  be 
called  secular  scheming  and  planning  there  is  in 
21* 


366  ON  THE  PRINCIPLE  OF  INWARD 

the  church  at  the  present  time !  How  much  of 
action,  prosecuted  on  principles,  which  certainly 
cannot  be  acccptahle  to  a  truly  holy  heart !  While 
it  exhibits  much  of  true  piety  and  much  of  the 
right  kind  of  action,  is  it  not  evident,  that  the 
church  exhibits  a  great  deal  also,  both  in  its  plans 
of  personal  and  of  public  activity,  of  that  restless, 
unsanctified,  and  grasping  eagerness,  which  char- 
acterizes, and  may  be  expected  to  characterize 
those  who  live  and  act,  as  if  there  were  no  God  in 
the  world  !  The  principle  of  quietude  or  stillness 
decidedly  condemns  this  injurious  and  evil  course. 

Second. — But  this  principle  has  inwardly  still 
more  important  results.  The  true  state  of  inter- 
nal quietude  or  stillness  implies  three  things. 

(1.) — And  accordingly  our  first  remark  is,  that 
true  quietness  of  soul  involves  a  cessation  from  un- 
necessary wandering  and  discursive  thoughts  and 
imaginations.  If  we  indulge  an  unnatural  and  in- 
ordinate curiosity ;  if  we  crowd  the  intellect  not  on- 
ly with  useful  knowledge,  but  with  all  the  vague  and 
unprofitable  rumours  and  news  of  the  day,  it  is 
hardly  possible,  on  the  principles  of  mental  philoso- 
phy, that  the  mind  should  be  at  rest.  The  doctrine 
of  religious  quietude  conveys  the  notion  of  a  state  of 
intellect  so  free  from  all  unnecessary  worldly  intru- 
ders, that  God  can  take  up  his  abode  there  as  the 
one  great  idea,  which  shall  either  exclusively  occu- 
py the  mind,  or  shall  so  far  occupy  it  as  to  bring 
all  other  thoughts  and  reflections  into  entire  har- 
mony with  itself  This  is,  philosophically,  one  of 
the  first  conditions  of  union  with  God.     It  seems 


QUIETUDE  OR  STILLNESS.  367 

to  be  naturally  impossible,  that  we  should  realize 
an  entire  harmony  or  oneness  with  the  divine  mind, 
while  the  soul  is  so  occupied  with  worldly  thoughts 
flowing  into  it,  as  almost  to  shut  out  the  very  idea  of 
God.  A  state  of  religious  or  spiritual  quietude  is, 
in  other  words,  a  state  of  rest  in  God.  The  idea 
of  God,  therefore,  that  magnificent  and  glorious 
idea,  must  so  occupy  the  intellect,  must  be  so  inter- 
woven with  all  its  operations  and  modes  of  think- 
ing, that  the  thoughts  of  other  things,  which  so  of- 
ten agitate  and  afiiict  the  religious  mind,  may  be 
easily  shut  out.  And  in  order  to  do  this,  they, 
who  would  be  perfect  in  Christ  Jesus,  must  not 
mingle  too  much  in  the  concerns  of  the  world. 
Little  have  they  to  do  with  the  unprofitable  frivol- 
ities and  pleasures  of  secular  society ;  with  idle 
village  gossiping;  with  the  trades  and  adventures 
and  speculations  of  those  who  hasten  to  be  rich ; 
with  the  heats  and  recriminations  of  party  politics, 
and  many  other  things,  which  it  would  be  easy  to 
mention.  No  reading,  also,  should  be  indulged  in, 
which  shall  tend  to  separate  between  the  soul  and 
God.  Knowledge  is  profitable,  it  is  true,  but  not 
all  kinds  of  knowledge.  It  is  better,  certainly,  if 
Ave  cannot  consistently  with  religious  principles 
have  a  knowledge  of  both,  to  be  familiar  with  the 
psalms  of  David,  than  with  the  poems  of  Homer  ; 
not  only  because  the  former  are  in  a  higher  strain, 
but  especially  because  heavenly  inspiration  should 
ever  take  precedence  of  that,  which  is  earthly. 
When,  liowever,  we  read  in  the  world's  books  from 
the  sense  of  duty,  when  we  may  be  said  to  read  and 


308  ON  THE  PRINCIPLE  OF  INWARD 

Study  for  God  and  with  God,  then  indeed,  the 
great  idea  of  the  Divinity  remains  present  and  op- 
erative in  the  soul.  And  such  inquiries  and  stud- 
ies are  always  consistent  with  Christian  quietude, 
because  the  mind,  venturing  forth  at  the  requisi- 
tion of  the  great  Master  within,  returns  instinctive- 
ly at  the  appointed  time,  to  the  inward  centre  of 
rest.  Hence  we  should  lay  it  down  as  an  impor- 
tant rule,  to  chasten  the  principle  of  curiosity,  and 
to  know  nothing  which  cannot  be  made,  either  di- 
rectly or  indirectly,  religiously  profitable.  Such 
knowledge  and  such  only,  will  harmonize  with 
the  presence  of  the  great  idea  of  God.  All  other 
knowledge  tends  to  exclude  it.  And  hence  it  is, 
that  it  can  be  so  often  said  of  those,  who  possess  all 
worldly  knowledge, to  whom  all  arts  and  langua- 
ges and  sciences  are  familiar,  that  God  is  not  in 
all  their  thoughts.  The  intellect  is  not  in  suffi- 
cient repose  from  the  outward  and  purely  worldly 
pressure  constantly  made  upon  it  to  receive  Him. 
He  comes  to  the  door,  but  finds  no  entrance,  and 
leaves  them  alone  in  their  folly. 

Perhaps  in  order  to  prevent  mistakes,  it  should 
be  added,  that,  when  the  mind  is  thus  in  a  state 
of  quietness  and  repose  from  worldly  and  errant 
imaginations,  it  does  not  by  any  means  follow,  as 
some  may  suppose,  that  it  is,  therefore,  in  a  state 
of  sluggish  and  insentient  idleness.  Not  at  all. 
No  sooner  has  it  reached  the  state  of  true  stillness, 
by  ceasing  from  its  own  imaginative  vanities,  and 
thus  giving  entrance  to  the  purifying  and  absorb- 
ing conception  of  the  great  Divinity,    than  it  be- 


QUIETUDE  OR  STILLNESS.  309 

comes  silently,  but  actively  meditative  on  the 
great  idea.  Not,  indeed,  in  a  discursive  and  ex- 
aminative  way  ;  not  in  a  way  of  curious  inquiry 
and  of  minute  analysis  ;  but  still  active  and  medi- 
tative. Much  in  the  manner,  perhaps,  that  an  af- 
fectionate child  silently  and  delightedly  meditates 
on  the  idea  of  an  absent  parent,  not  analytically 
and  curiously,  but  with  that  high  and  beautiful 
meditation,  which  exists  in  connection  with  the  pur- 
est love.  Or  much  as  any  persons,  who  sustain 
to  each  other  the  relation  of  dear  and  intimate 
friendship,  when  in  the  providence  of  God  they 
are  separated  at  a  distance,  often  repose  in  mental 
stillness  from  all  other  thoughts  inconsistent  with 
the  one  loved  idea ;  and  thus  reciprocally  the 
mind,  active  in  respect  to  the  object  before  it, 
though  still  and  quiet  in  respect  to  every  thing  else, 
centres  and  dwell  with  each  other's  image. 

(2.)  Again,  the  state  of  internal  quietude  im- 
plies a  cessation  or  rest  from  unrestrained  and  in- 
ordinate desires  and  affections.  Such  a  cessation 
becomes  comparatively  easy,  when  God  has  be- 
come the  ruling  idea  in  the  thoughts ;  and  when 
other  ideas,  which  are  vain,  wandering,  and  in 
other  ways  inconsistent  Avith  it,  are  excluded. 
This  rest  or  stillness  of  the  affections,  when  it  ex- 
ists in  the  highest  degree,  is  secured  by  perfect  faith 
in  God,  necessarily  resulting  in  perfect  love.  We 
have  already  had  occasion  to  say  that  perfect  faith 
implies,  in  its  results,  perfect  love.  How  can  we 
possibly  have  perfect  faith  in  God,  perfect  confi- 
dence that  he  will  do  all  things  right  and  well, 


370  ON  THE  PRINCIPLE  OF  INWARD 

when  at  the  same  time  we  are  wanting  in  love  to 
him?  From  perfect  faith,  therefore,  perfect  love 
necessarily  Hows  out,  baptizing,  as  it  were,  and 
purifying  all  the  subordinate  powers  of  the  soul. 
In  other  words,  under  the  influence  of  this  predom- 
inating principle,  the  perfect  love  of  God  resting 
upon  perfect  faith  in  God,  the  harmony  of  the  soul 
becomes  restored ;  the  various  appetites,  propensi- 
ties, and  affections  act  each  in  their  place  and  all 
concurrently ;  there  are  no  disturbing  and  jarring 
influences,  and  the  beautiful  result  is  that  quiet- 
ness of  spirit,  which  is  declared  to  be  "m  the  sight 
of  God  of  great  price." 

Those,  who  are  privileged  by  divine  assistance, 
to  enjoy  this  interior  rest  and  beautiful  stillness  of 
the  passions,  are  truly  lovely  to  the  beholder. 
The  wicked  are  like  the  troubled  sea,  that  cannot 
rest,  tost  about  by  conflicting  passions,  and  are  not 
more  unhappy  in  themselves,  than  they  are  un- 
lovely in  the  sight  of  holy  beings.  There  is  a 
want  of  interior  symmetry  and  union  ;  that  guiding 
principle  of  divine  love,  which  consolidates  and 
perfects  the  characters  of  holy  beings,  is  absent ; 
the  lower  parts  of  their  nature  have  gained  the  as- 
cendency, and  there  is  internal  jarring  and  discord 
and  general  moral  deformity.  In  such  a  heart  God 
does  not  and  cannot  dwell.  How  diflferent  is  the 
condition  of  that  heart,  which  is  pervaded  by  the 
power  of  a  sanctifying  stillness,  and  which,  in  the 
cessation  of  its  own  jarring  noise,  is  prepared  to 
listen  to  the  "still  small  voice!"     It  is  here  that 


QUIETUDE  OR  STILLNESS.  371 

God  not  only  takes  up  his  abode,  but  continually 
instructs,  guides,  and  consoles. 

On  this  part  of  the  subject,  in  order  to  prevent 
any  misapprehension,  we  make  two  brief  remarks. 
The  first  is,  that  the  doctrine  of  stillness  or  quie- 
tude of  the  desires  and  passions,  does  not  necessa- 
rily exclude  an  occasional  agitation  arising  from 
the  instinctive  part  of  our  nature.  The  instincts 
are  so  constituted,  that  they  act,  not  by  cool  rea- 
son and  reflection,  but  by  an  inexpressibly  quick 
and  agitated  movement.  Such  is  their  nature. 
Such  agitation  is  entirely  consistent  with  holiness. 
And  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  suppose,  that  even 
the  amazement  and  fears,  which  are  ascribed  to 
our  blessed  Saviour  at  certain  periods  of  his  life, 
are  to  be  attributed  to  the  operation  of  this  part  of 
his  nature,  which  is  perfectly  consistent  with  entire 
resignation  and  with  perfect  confidence  in  God. 
The  other  remark  is,  that  the  doctrine  of  internal 
quietude,  pervading  and  characterizing  the  action 
of  the  sensibilities,  is  not  inconsistent  with  feelings 
of  displeasure,  and  even  of  anger.  Our  Savior 
was  at  times  grieved,  displeased,  angry ;  as  he  had 
abundant  reason  to  be,  in  view  of  the  hardness  of 
heart  and  the  sins,  which  were  exposed  to  his  no- 
tice. Anger,  (so  far  as  it  is  not  purely  instinctive, 
which  at  its  first  rise  and  for  a  mere  moment  of 
time  it  may  be,)  is,  in  its  nature,  entirely  consistent 
with  reason  and  reflection  ;  is  consistent  with  the 
spirit  of  suplication,  and  consistent  also,  even  in  its 
strong  exercises,  with  entire  agreement  and  rela- 
tive quietude  in  all  parts  of  the  soul.   In  other  words, 


372  ON  THE  PRINCIPLE  OF  INWARD 

although  there  is  deep  feeling  in  one  part  of  the  soul, 
the  other  parts,such  as  the  reason,  the  conscience,  and 
the  will,  are  so  entirely  consentient,  that  the  great 
fact  of  holy,  internal  quietude,  which  depends  upon 
a  perfect  adjustment  of  the  parts  to  each  other,  is  se- 
cured. A.  strong  faith  in  God,  existing  in  the  interior 
recesses  of  the  soul,  and  inspiring  a  disposition  to 
look  with  a  constant  eye  to  his  will  alone,  keeps 
every  thing  in  its  right  position.  Hence  there 
still  remains  the  great  and  important  fact  of  holy 
internal  rest,  even  at  such  trying  times. 

(3.)  We  proceed  now  to  the  third  characteris- 
tic. The  true  state  of  internal  quietude  implies  a 
cessation  not  only  from  unnecessarily  wandering 
and  discursive  thoughts  and  imaginations,  not  only 
a  rest  from  irregular  desires  and  affections,  but  im- 
plies, in  the  third  place,  a  perfect  submission  of 
the  will ;  in  other  words,  a  perfect  renunciation  of 
our  own  purposes  and  plans,  and  a  cheerful  and 
perfect  acquiescence  in  the  holy  will  of  God.  Such 
a  renunciation  of  the  will  is  indispensably  requi- 
site. It  is  not  to  be  understood  that  we  are  to 
have  no  will  of  our  own,  in  the  literal  sense.  This 
would  be  inconsistent  with  moral  agency.  But 
that  in  its  action,  under  all  circumstances,  how- 
ever adverse  and  trying,  our  will  is  cheerfully  and 
wholly  accordant  with  God's  will.  A  mind,  in 
such  a  state,  must  necessarily  be  at  rest.  It  real- 
izes that  God  is  at  the  helm  of  affairs ;  and  that 
necessarily  all  the  plans  of  his  wise  and  great  ad- 
ministration shall  come  to  pass.  Why  then  should 
it  be  troubled?     "What  a  blessed  thing  it  is,"  says 


QUIETUDE  OR  STILLNESS.  373 

Dr.  Payson,  "to  lose  one's  will.  Since  I  have  lost 
my  will,  I  have  found  happiness.  There  can  be 
no  such  thing  as  disappointment;  for  I  have  no 
desire  but  that  God's  will  may  be  accomplished." 
The  blessedness  of  such  a  soul  is  indeed  indescriba- 
ble. It  is  an  inward  death  out  of  which  springs  in- 
ward and  eternal  life ;  a  self  annihilation,  out  of 
Avhich  rises  immortal  power.  The  man,  who  has  the 
true  quietude,  is  like  a  large  ship  firmly  at  anchor 
in  a  storm.  The  clouds  gather  around,  the  winds 
blow,  the  heavy  waves  dash  against  her,  but  she 
rides  safe  in  her  position,  in  conscious  dignity 
and  power.  Or  perhaps  his  situation  is  more  near- 
ly expressed  by  the  memorable  and  sublime  simile 
of  Goldsmith, 

"As  some  tall  cliff,  that  rears  its  awful  form, 
Swells  from  the  vale  and  mid- way  leaves  the  storm. 
Though  round  its  breast  the  rolling  clouds  are  spread, 
Eternal  sunshine  settles  on  its  head." 

But  some  will  say.  Is  there  to  be  no  action;  and 
are  we  to  do  nothing?  A  person  in  this  state  of 
mind,  being  at  rest  in  the  will  of  God,  and  never 
out  of  that  divine  will,  is  operative  precisely  as 
God  would  have  him  so :  moving  as  God  moves, 
stopping  where  God  stops.  He  is  at  rest,  but  nev- 
er idle.  His  God  forbids  idleness.  Therefore  he 
keeps  in  the  line  of  divine  cooperation,  and  works 
wUh  God.  There  may  be  less  of  vain  and  noisy 
pretension,  and  sometimes  less  of  outward  and  vis- 
ible activity,  but  there  is  far  more  wisdom,  and  far 
more  actual  efficiency,  for  God  is  with  him. 


32 


CHAPTER    THIRTY-FIFTH. 
Additional  remarks  on  the  state  of  interior  stillness. 

Fenelon  has  somewhere  remarked  to  this  effect, 
that,  in  our  inward  feeUngs,  "i7  is  often  more  easy  to 
perceive  what  is  the  result  of  nature,  than  of  grace." 
This  remark  may  perhaps  be  of  doubtful  correct- 
ness in  the  view  of  some  persons  ;  but  it  is  certain- 
ly worthy  of  serious  examination.  If  it  be  true,  it 
is  a  remark,  which  involves  important  principles. 

We  are  aware,  that  the  common  opinion  is  the 
opposite  of  this.  It  is  generally  supposed  that  the 
emotions  and  affections  of  the  religious  life  are 
more  marked  and  perceptible,  than  those  of  the  nat- 
ural life.  It  seems  to  be  a  prevalent  idea,  that  a 
person,  who  is  not  internally  perceptive  of  strong 
emotions  and  affections,  has  but  little  claims  to 
depth  and  power  of  religious  experience.  It  is  im- 
plied in  this  idea,  that  there  must  be  a  salient 
or  projective  aspect  to  these  feelings,  so  that  to 
the  subjects  of  them  they  shall  appear,  in  com- 
parison with  other  feelings,  to  stand  out  distinctly 
and  prominently  perceptible.  It  is  to  this  particu- 
lar phasis  of  the  common  doctrine,  that  the  remark 
of  Fenelon,  viz.  that,  in  our  inward  experience,  it 


ADDITIONAL  REMARKS  ON  INTERIOR  STILLNESS.     375 

IS  more  easy  to  perceive  what  is  the  result  of  na- 
ture, than  of  grace,  is  particularly  opposed.  He 
would  not  by  any  means  deny  the  strength  of 
religious  emotions  and  feelings  in  those,  who  are 
truly  and  eminently  pious.  This  would  be  a 
great  error.  His  idea  is,  that,  when  the  soul  is 
wholly  given  to  God,  there  is  such  an  entire  har- 
mony and  internal  rest,  that  no  one  of  the  religious 
affections,  however  strong  they  may  be,  is  compar- 
atively so  much  in  advance  of  what  might  reason- 
ably be  expected  of  other  religious  feelings,  as  ne- 
cessarily to  claim  and  secure  a  distinct  and  partic- 
ular notice.  All  are  the  subjects  of  a  perfect  rela- 
tive adjustment ;  all  are  kept  in  their  place  by  the 
superintendence  of  the  principle  of  perfect  love ;  all 
are  sprinkled  over  and  bright  with  the  celestial  dew  ; 
so  that  one  part  or  exercise  is  as  beautiful  in  its  place 
as  another,  and  as  much  calculated  to  arrest  par- 
ticular attention  as  another.  The  result  is  the  har- 
mony, the  internal  stillness,  and  the  beauty,  which 
must  ever  characterize  true  holiness. 

This  doctrine  is  in  accordance  with  the  facts, 
which  from  time  to  time  present  themselves  to  no- 
tice in  the  annals  of  personal  Christian  experience. 
The  interesting  form  of  the  religious  life,  of  which 
this  doctrine  may  be  regarded  as  the  theological  or 
philosophical  expression,  seems,  indirectly  at  least, 
to  be  indicated  in  those  beautiful  expressions  in  2d 
Corinthians,  where  the  Apostle  speaking  of  himself 
and  others,  says,  "  as  unknown,  and  yet  well 
known ;  as  dying,  and,  behold,  we  live  ;  as  chas- 
tened, and  not  killed ;  as  sorrowful,  yet  always  re- 


376  ADDITIONAL  REMARKS  ON  THE 

joicing  ;  as  poor,  yet  making  many  rich  :  as  having 
nothing,  and  yd  possessing  all  things J^  He,  who  is 
known  and  yet  unknown,  dying  and  yet  living, 
sorroAvful  yet  rejoicing,  poor  yet  communicating 
riches,  having  nothing,  and  yet  possessing  all 
things,  is  the  subject  of  feelings,  the  result  of  whose 
various  action,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  is  perfect 
harmony  and  internal  calm.  His  fame  is  counter- 
balanced and  harmonized  by  his  obscurity ;  his 
sorrow  by  his  joy  ;  his  poverty  by  his  riches  ;  his 
absolute  possession  of  nothing  by  his  possession  of 
all  things ;  so  that  the  soul,  pressed  as  it  were  by 
equal  forces  in  opposite  directions,  necessarily 
maintains  the  central  position  of  interior  rest. 

The  state  of  mind,  of  which  we  are  speaking, 
appears  to  be  disclosed  in  one  of  the  short  prayers, 
that  are  found  in  Fenelon's  Pious  Reflections ;  a 
part  of  which  is  as  follows. 

"Oh  Lord,  I  know  not  what  I  should  ask  of  Thee, 
Thou  only  knowest  what  I  want ;  and  Thou  lov- 
est  me,  if  I  am  thy  friend,  better  than  I  can  love 
myself.  Oh  Lord,  give  to  me,  thy  child,  what  is 
proper,  whatsoever  it  may  be.  I  dare  not  ask 
either  crosses  or  comforts.  I  only  present  myself 
before  Thee.  I  open  my  heart  to  Thee.  Behold 
my  wants,  which  I  am  ignorant  of;  but  do  Thou 
behold  and  do  according  to  thy  mercy.  Smite,  or 
heal !  Depress  me,  or  raise  me  up  !  I  adore  all 
thy  purposes,  without  knowing  them.  I  am  silent; 
I  offer  myself  in  sacrifice." 

Such  supplications  give  evidence  of  a  mind,  that 
is  at  rest  in  itself;  a  mind,  that  reposes  with  entire 


STATE  OF  INTERIOR  STILLNESS.  377 

confidence,  whatever  may  be  its  temptations  and 
sorrows,  upon  the  Divine  Mind. 

The  religious  state  of  Madame  Guyon,  in  the 
latter  part  of  her  life,  illustrates  this  form  of  Chris- 
tian experience.  "In  these  last  times,"  she  says, 
"I  can  hardly  speak  at  all  of  my  dispositions.  It 
is  because  my  state  has  become  simple  and  without 
variations.  It  is  a  profound  annihilation.  I  find  noth- 
ing in  myself,  to  which  I  can  give  a  name ;  [that  is, 
no  feelings  so  specific  and  remarkable,  separate  from 
this  simplicity  and  this  loss  of  self  in  God,  as  to  en- 
able me  to  describe  them.]  All  that  I  know,  is,  that 
God  is  infinitely  holy,  righteous,  good,  and  hap- 
py."— "All  good  is  in  Him.  As  to  myself,  I  am  a 
mere  nothing.  To  me  every  condition  seems  equal. 
All  is  lost  in  his  immensity,  like  a  drop  of  water  in 
the  sea.  In  this  divine  immensity,  the  soul  sees 
itself  no  more." 

In  that  state  of  internal  experience,  which  is  de- 
scribed by  Madame  Guyon,  there  seems  to  be  a 
perfect  balance  and  harmony  of  the  diiferent  parts 
of  the  mind.  There  may  be  deep  feeling,  (and 
there  is  in  reality  very  deep  feeling,)  but  it  is  so 
perfectly  controlled  by  a  sense  of  union  with  the 
will  of  God,  that  the  result  is  complete  simplicity  and 
rest  of  soul.  Just  as  it  is  in  a  piece  of  complica- 
ted machinery.  If  the  wheels  and  other  parts  are 
out  of  order,  or  if  there  is  much  friction,  the  action 
of  the  machinery  is  perplexed  and  is  really  weak, 
although  there  is  exceedingly  great  jarring  and  dis- 
cordant noise.  But  when  the  wheels  are  all  in 
position,  and  there  is  no  friction,  the  action  may  be 
32« 


378     ADDITIONAL  REMARKS  ON  INTERIOR  STILLNESS. 

one  of  tremendous  power,  and  yet  so  easy  and 
quiet  as  to  be  hardly  perceptible.  And  such  is 
the  true  kingdom  of  God  in  the  soul.  It  comes 
and  exists  with  power,  but  with  great  simplicity. 
There  is  nothing  in  it,  in  itself  considered,  which 
is  calculated  to  attract  and  secure  worldly  observa- 
tion. It  is  mighty ;  but  hke  God  himself,  it  is  in- 
wardly silent,  ''a  still  small  voice."  The  rehgious- 
ly  quiet  man,  that  is  to  say,  the  man  who  is  in- 
wardly and  truly  subdued  and  quiet  in  conse- 
quence of  religion,  is  really  the  man  of  great  relig- 
ious strength ;  and  yet  this  strength  in  consequence 
of  that  harmonious  silence  of  movement,  which  is 
the  result  of  its  own  perfection,  is  so  hidden  from 
his  view,  that  he  seems  to  be  hardly  conscious  of 
its  existence.  But  it  is  very  different  with  the  nat- 
ural man ;  and  also  with  the  Christian,  who  still 
retains  a  large  infusion  of  the  natural  element. 
While  the  operations  of  the  sanctified  man  are 
harmonious  and  quiet ;  and  therefore,  are  with- 
drawn, in  a  great  measure,  from  distinct  inward 
notice ;  those  of  the  natural  mind  are  not  only  self- 
interested,  but  are  restless,  impetuous,  and  contra- 
dictory ;  and,  therefore,  as  a  matter  of  course  are 
mentally  prominent  and  perceptible.  The  true 
controlling  principle  of  the  mind,  in  the  case  of 
the  natural  man,  is  gone;  audits  parts  in  action 
strike  and  jar  upon  each  other  with  an  inward 
concussion,  like  the  hinges  of  the  gates  of  Hell, 
that  grate  "harsh  thunder." 


CHAPTER   THIRTY-SIXTH. 


On  spiritual  cooperation  with  God. 

It  is  very  obvious,  that  man,  considered  as  a  ra- 
tional and  voluntary  being,  is  designed  for  action. 
And  when  we  consider  the  relation  of  entire  depen- 
dence, which  man  sustains  to  his  Creator,  it  is  no 
less  obvious,  that  human  action  ought  to  assume 
and  to  maintain  the  shape  of  cooperation  with 
God.  This  is  designed  to  be,  and  it  ought  to  be, 
the  great  object  of  our  life,  viz.  cooperation  with 
God. 

First. — In  endeavoring  to  ascertain  the  princi- 
ples of  this  important  subject,  we  remark  in  the 
first  place,  that  we  are  not  to  undertake  to  decide 
for  ourselves,  (that  is  to  say,  by  a  reference  to  our 
own  wishes  merely,)  what  we  are  to  do,  and  what 
we  are  not  to  do.  Such  a  course  would  exhibit  a 
disposition  to  cooperate  with  ourselves,  if  we  may 
so  express  it,  rather  than  with  God.  On  the  con- 
trary, realizing  deeply  the  general  fact  of  our  lia- 
bility to  error,  we  should  ever  be  in  that  state  of 
mind,  which  will  lead  us  with  meekness  and  sim- 
plicity to  inquire  what  our  heavenly  Father  will 
have  us  to  do.     We  should  have  no  choice  of  our 


380  ON  SPIRITUAL  COOPERATION  WITH  GOD, 

own,  which  shall  be,  in  any  degree  whatever,  at 
variance  with  his  choice.  The  thing  to  be  done, 
whatever  it  may  be,  must  be  left  with  him.  This 
is  one  condition,  on  Avhich  we  can  cooperate  with 
God ;  and  without  which  it  is  evident,  that  no  ac- 
ceptable cooperation  with  Him  can  take  place. 

Second. — We  are  not,  in  the  second  place,  while 
we  leave  to  God  to  ascertain  the  object  to  be  done, 
to  undertake  of  ourselves  to  prescribe  the  time  of 
doing  it.  God  has  not  only  a  work  to  be  done,  but 
He  also  has  a  time  of  doing  it.  His  time  is  the 
right  time ;  and  no  other  time  is.  David  was  wil- 
'ling  to  build  a  house  of  worship  for  the  Lord.  But 
the  time,  which  infinite  wisdom  prescribed  for  this 
great  work,  had  not  arrived.  And  in  the  spirit  of 
acquiescence,  he  left  it  to  his  successor.  In  repeat- 
ed instances  the  Savior  expressed  the  sentiment, 
that  "his  hour  was  not  yet  come"  ;  implying  very 
evidently  that  the  great  events  of  his  life,  whether 
of  action  or  of  suffering,  had  their  appropriate  time. 
And  neither  the  protestations  of  friends  nor  the  dic- 
tation of  enemies  could  induce  Him  to  violate  the 
maxims  of  true  wisdom,  by  anticipating,  even  for 
a  moment,  that  appropriate  period.  If,  therefore, 
we  gird  ourselves  for  action,  however  good  the  ob- 
ject to  be  done  may  be,  either  before  the  appro- 
priate time  or  after  it,  we  do  not  cooperate  with 
God,  who  always  acts  precisely  at  the  right  time. 
This  is  a  point,  which  it  is  very  important  to  re- 
member. Persons  are  more  likely  to  fall  into  error 
here,  than  in  the  particular  which  was  first  men- 
tioned.    There  is  a   sort  of  latent  feeling,  (a  very 


ON  SPIRITUAL  COOPERATION  WITH  GOD.  381 

unrighteous  feeling  it  is,)  that  if  God  is  permitted 
exckisively  to  designate  the  object,  we  should  have 
some  degree  of  liberty  in  exercising  our  own  wis- 
dom, either  partially  or  wholly,  in  the  designation 
of  the  time.  In  other  words,  we  are  apt  to  feel, 
that  a  less  perfect  submission  is  required  in  regard 
to  the  time,  than  in  regard  to  the  object.  This 
tendency  must  be  carefully  guarded  against. 

Third. — We  are  not,  in  the  third  place,  while 
we  leave  to  God  to  ascertain  the  object  to  be  done 
and  the  time  of  doing  it,  to  undertake  to  decide 
for  ourselves  as  to  the  manner  of  doing  it.  We 
know  how  it  is  in  ordinary  life.  A  servant  some- 
times, or  even  a  son  will  do  what  the  master  or 
father  has  commanded,  and  do  it  at  the  right  time; 
but  will  do  it  perhaps  with  excitement  and  rude- 
ness of  feeling,  without  true  cordiality  of  heart 
and  that  laborious  care,  which  might  reasonably 
be  expected.  It  is  true,  that  we  have  here  the  es- 
sentials of  a  visible  and  operative  cooperation ; 
but  it  is  evident,  that  we  have  not  that  higher  in- 
ward and  mental  cooperation,  which  God  requires. 
We  must  cooperate  cordially.  If  we  are  associated 
with  others,  we  must  be  willing  to  take  the  first 
place  or  the  last  place,  to  act  as  leader  or  servant 
just  as  God  chooses.  We  must  also  take  any  part 
of  the  work,  which  God  sees  fit  to  impose  upon  us  ; 
that  which  is  esteemed  low  and  degrading,  as  well 
as  that  which  is  more  agreeable  to  refinement  of 
taste  and  to  prevailing  notions  of  honor  and  digni- 
ty. In  every  thing  of  this  kind,  and  in  every 
thing  else  which  can  properly  be  included  in  the 


382  ON  SPIRITUAL  COOPERATION  WITH  GOD. 

MANNER  of  doing  what  God  imposes,  we  are  requir- 
ed to  follow  cheerfully  and  unhesitatingly  the  in- 
dications of  the  Divine  Will.  Otherwise  there  is 
no  true  co-operation. 

Fourth. — In  order  to  realize  personally  the  condi- 
tions of  divine  cooperation,  which  have  been  men- 
tioned, it  is  necessary  to  be  mentally  in  a  state  of  pas- 
sivity, as  it  is  sometimes  expressed  ;  or  more  prop- 
erly and  truly,  of  strict  impartiality  before  God.  In 
other  words,  we  must  be  willing  to  submit  ourselves 
to  the  divine  guidance,  without  the  least  resistance 
or  bias  of  mind  ;  remaining  in  the  attitude  of  silent 
and  sincere  waiting  upon  God,  that  we  may  learn 
from  Him  what  he  would  have  us  to  do ;  and  also 
at  what  time  and  in  what  manner.  The  language 
of  our  souls  must  be  essentially  that  of  the  Psalm- 
ist, when  he  exclaimed,  "My  soul,  wait  thou  only 
upon  the  Lord;  for  my  expectation  is  from  him." 
And  it  is  implied  in  this  especially,  that  our  minds 
should  not  be  under  the  influence  of  prejudice  or 
of  wrong  passion  in  any  form.  When  the  mind 
has  arrived  at  the  state  of  entire  submission  and  of 
holy  impartiality,  resulting  in  the  removal  of  the 
stains  of  prejudice  and  the  shades  of  passion,  it  re- 
sembles a  clear  and  bright  mirror  ;  reflecting  easi- 
ly and  distinctly  the  desires  and  purposes  of  God. 
In  this  state  of  mind,  it  is  easy  to  leave  every 
thing  with  Him ;  to  receive  from  Him  implicitly 
the  annunciation  of  the  thing  to  be  done,  and  also 
all  the  attendant  conditions  of  doing  it.  God  is 
pleased  to  be  present  with,  and  to  operate  in  such 
a  soul.     The  Holy  Spirit  teaches  it;  and  it  has 


ON  SPIRITUAL  COOPERATION  WITH  GOD.  383 

both  the  power  to  hear  and  the  spirit  to  obey.  But 
in  any  other  condition  of  mind  there  must  necessa- 
rily be  a  conflict  between  the  agitated  and  self-in- 
terested will  of  the  creature  and  the  decisions  of 
the  Supreme  Mind. 

Fifth. — When  we  enter  into  the  state  of  coop- 
eration with  God,  we  must  feel,  that  our  agency  is 
entirely  dependent  and  secondary  in  all  the  subse- 
quent progress  of  the  work,  whatever  it  is,  not  less 
than  in  its  incipient  stages.  I  know  that  man  has 
will,  and  that  he  has  power.  It  would  be  a  great 
error  to  deny  or  to  doubt  it.  But  it  is  equally 
true,  that  he  is  dependent ;  and  that,  in  a  very  im- 
portant sense,  he  has  nothing.  We  must,  therefore, 
not  only  begin  in  our  nothingness ;  but  must  be 
willing  to  remain  in  it.  It  is  a  partnership,  where 
we  must  realize,  that  not  only  all  the  capital ;  but, 
when  properly  considered,  that  all  the  personal  op- 
erative power  are  from  one  source.  Man  works, 
it  is  true ;  but  God  works  in  him.  Man's  working 
without  God's  working,  as  the  basis  of  it,  is  of  no 
avail.  '  Hence  there  must  be  no  undue  anxiety,  no 
unsuitable  and  excited  eagerness,  no  methods  and 
plans  of  action,  originated  and  prosecuted  on  world- 
ly principles ;  which  necessarily  implies  some  dis- 
trust of  the  skill  and  resources  of  the  great  Being, 
who  has  thus  condescended  to  work  by  means  of 
human  instrumentality.  We  must  move  when 
God  moves  ;  stop  when  He  stops  ;  deliberate  when 
He  deliberates ;  act  when  He  acts.  Any  assump- 
tion on  our  part  of  superior  wisdom  or  strength, 
any  disposition  lo  move  in  anticipation  of  his  move- 


384  ON  SPIRITUAL  COOPERATION  WITH  GOD. 

ment,  or  in  any  way  to  forestall  the  divine  intima- 
tions, would  be  getting  not  only  out  of  the  position 
of  dependence  and  nothingness,  but  out  of  the  line 
of  cooperation. 

Sixth. — As  closely  connected  with  what  has  al- 
ready been  said,  we  remark  further,  that,  in  coop- 
erating with  God,  it  seems  to  be  necessary,  that 
we  should  be  in  a  state  of  recipiency,  rather  than 
of  communication.  In  other  words,  it  being  admit- 
ted that  we  have  nothing  of  our  own  which  we 
can  communicate  or  give  to  God,  it  would  seem  to 
follow,  that  our  cooperation,  so  far  as  it  has  an  ex- 
istence at  all,  must  depend  upon  the  fact  of  our  re- 
ceiving from  him.  Accordingly  it  seems  to  be  our 
great  duty,  by  meekness  and  simplicity  of  heart, 
by  freedom  from  worldly  vanities  and  entire  self- 
renunciation,  to  put  ourselves  in  the  true  receptive 
attitude.  We  must  remember,  especially  as  unbe- 
lief is  apt  to  find  its  way  in  at  this  entrance,  that 
God  is  always  ready  to  communicate  himself;  we 
need  not  fear,  that  our  divine  associate  in  this 
great  co-partnership  will  be  found  wanting.  On 
the  contrary,  it  is  his  desire,  his  delight,  his  high- 
est happiness  to  communicate  himself.  And  the 
reason  why  he  does  not  communicate  himself  to 
all  men  at  once,  is  the  existence  in  their  bosoms  of 
obstacles,  which  they  themselves  have  voluntarily 
placed  there.  So  that  the  highest  honor  and  the 
highest  power  of  man  is,  having  put  away  these 
obstacles,  to  wait  upon  God,  in  the  exercise  of 
simple  faith,  for  the  reception  of  the  divine  suf- 
ficiency. 


ON  SPIRITUAL  COOPERATION  WITH  GOD.  385 

But  some  will  say  here  also,  in  connection  with 
the  views  now  presented,  Shall  we  remain  inactive  ? 
I  reply,  that  man  is  justly  and  efficiently  active, 
when  he  is  active  in  communication  with  God  ; 
and  yet  remaining  deeply  in  his  own  sphere  of 
nothingness.  Man  never  acts  to  higher  and  nobler 
purpose,  than  when,  in  the  realization  of  his  own 
comparative  nihility,  he  places  himself  in  the  recep- 
tive position,  and  lets  God  work  in  him.  He,  who 
is  receptive,  is  neither  idle  nor  unprofitable.  In 
the  intercourse  between  man  and  his  Maker,  it  is 
the  receptive  and  not  the  communicative  activity, 
which  is  the  source  of  truth,  riches,  and  power. 
The  religious  man,  in  his  receptive  activity,  is  like 
the  earth,  (so  far  as  we  can  compare  things  mental 
with  material,)  which  receives  into  its  ploughed 
and  expanded  bosom  the  morning  dew  and  the 
summer  shower  and  the  daily  sunshine  ;  that  thus, 
by  being  prepared  to  receive  them,  and  by  being 
endowed  with  abundant  communications  from 
without  and  above,  it  may  subsequently  become 
rich  in  itself;  and  in  its  own  vitality,  as  it  were, 
be  crowned  with  fruit  and  flower.  Or  perhaps  we 
may  say  more  appropriately,  that  he  is  like  those 
scholars,  who  are  impressed  with  a  sense  of  their 
own  inferiority  and  ignorance,  and  are  Avilling  to 
sit  patiently  and  humbly  at  the  feet  of  their  distin- 
guished teachers,  that  they  may  grow  in  knowledge. 
Their  minds  are  receptive,  but  not  inert :  are  in  the 
attitude  of  listening,  but  are  not  idle.  They  ulti- 
mately, in  the  way  of  cooperation  with  what  they 
have  received,  become  fruitful  in  themselves  ;  but 
33 


386  ON  SPIRITUAL  COOPERATION  WITH  GOD. 

it  is  only  because  they  are  humble  and  attentive 
recipients  in  the  first  instance. 

Seventh, — Besides  that  cooperation  in  particular 
emergencies,  which  has  already  been  remarked  up- 
on, we  may  observe  further,  that  God  requires  a 
constant  cooperation;  a  cooperation  moment  by 
moment ;  what  some  writers  have  described  "as  liv- 
ing to  God  by  the  moment."  It  is  an  universal  law, 
unalterable  as  God  is  and  lasting  as  eternity,  that 
no  created  being  can  be  truly  holy,  useful,  or  happy, 
who  is  knowingly  and  deliberately  out  of  the  line 
of  divine  cooperation,  even  for  a  moment.  Accor- 
dingly we  are  to  consider  every  moment  as  con- 
secrated to  God,  It  is  true,  that,  in  order  to 
the  full  and  assured  life  of  God  in  the  soul,  there 
must  be  the  general  act  of  Consecration,  which  has 
already  been  explained  in  a  former  Chapter ;  and 
which  is  understood  to  relate  to  a  man's  whole 
nature,  and  to  cover  the  whole  ground  of  time  and 
eternity.  And  we  may  say  further,  that  it  is  proper 
to  recall  distinctly  to  mind  and  to  repeat  at  suitable 
times  the  general  act  of  Consecration :  but  it  does 
not  appear  to  be  necessary,  in  the  strict  sense  of  the 
terms  or  in  any  other  sense  than  that  of  repeating 
it,  to  RENEW  it,  unless  it  has  been,  at  some  period,  re- 
ally withdrawn.  But  while  the  general  act  remains 
good,  and  diffuses  its  consecrative  influence  over 
the  whole  course  of  our  being,  it  is  necessary  to 
consecrate  ourselves  in  particulars,  as  the  events 
or  occasions  of  such  particular  consecration  may 
successively  arise.  And  in  the  remark,  as  we  now 
wish  it  to  be  understood,  we  do  not  mean  merely 


ON  SPIRITUAL  COOPERATION  WITH  GOD.  387 

those  events,  which,  while  they  are  distinct, 
are  peculiarly  marked  and  important  ;  but  all 
events  of  whatever  character.  In  other  words, 
although  we  may  have  consecrated  ourselves  to 
God  in  a  general  way  and  by  an  universal  act  of 
consecration,  in  all  respects  and  for  all  time,  we 
must  still  consecrate  ourselves  to  him  in  each  sep- 
arate duty  and  trial,  which  his  Providence  impo- 
ses, and  moment  by  moment.  The  present  moment, 
therefore,  is,  in  a  special  sense,  the  important  mo- 
ment, the  divine  moment ;  the  moment,  which  we 
cannot  safely  pass,  without  having  the  divine 
blessing  upon  it. 

Thus  extensive  is  the  doctrine  of  divine  coopera- 
tion, when  it  is  rightly  understood.  How  thank- 
ful should  we  be,  thus  to  be  permitted,  to  enter  in- 
to partnership,  insignificant  as  we  are,  and  to  be- 
come co-workers  with  God  !  Such  was  the  life  of 
Enoch,  of  Abraham,  of  Daniel,  of  John,  of  Paul. 
How  the  idea  of  the  life  of  man,  thus  united  with 
the  life  and  activity  of  God,  throws  discourage- 
ment and  dishonor  upon  all  low  and  grovelling 
pursuits,  and  at  once  elevates  and  sanctifies  our 
nature! 


CHAPTER  THIRTY-SEVENTH. 


Distinction  between  impulses  and  a  sanctified  judgment. 

It  is  sometimes  the  case,  that  persons  act  from 
certain  interior  impressions,  which  may  properly 
be  termed  impulses.  It  would  certainly  be  very 
injurious  to  the  cause  of  holiness,  if  the  doctrine 
should  prevail,  that  mere  interior  impressions  or 
impulses  may  of  themselves  become  the  rule  of 
conduct  to  a  holy  person.  That  persons  in  sancti- 
fication  are  under  a  divine  guidance,  and  that 
they  cannot  retain  the  grace  of  sanctification  with- 
out such  guidance,  is  entirely  true.  But  it  has 
sometimes  been  the  case,  that  men  have  mistaken 
natural  impulses  for  the  secret  inspirations  of  the 
Spirit ;  and  in  the  flattering  belief  of  being  guided 
by  a  higher  power,  have  experienced  no  other  gui- 
dance than  that  of  their  own  rebellious  passions. 
On  the  danger  of  such  a  state,  of  which  the  church 
has  seen  too  many  melancholy  instances,  it  is  un- 
necessary to  remark.  We  proceed,  therefore,  to 
lay  down  some  principles,  which,  if  we  do  not  err 
in  our  statement  of  them,  will  be  of  some  assistance 
in  guiding  us,  in  relation  to  this  practical  and  im- 
portant subject. 


DISTINCTION  BETWEEN  IMPULSES  AND  JUDGMENT.  389 

First. — The  Holy  Spirit  is  very  various  in  his 
operations  upon  men ;  but  it  will  be  conceded, 
I  suppose,  as  a  correct  principle,  that  He  generally 
conforms  himself  in  his  operations,  whatever  they 
may  be,  to  the  structure  and  laws  of  the  human 
mind.  Accordingly  in  those  operations,  the  object 
of  which  is  to  guide  or  direct  men,  it  will  be  found, 
that  He  always  acts  in  connection  with  the  pow- 
ers which  are  appropriate  to  such  a  result;  and 
particularly  in  connection  with  the  perceptive 
and  judging  powers.  We  desire  it  to  be  kept 
in  mind,  that  we  are  speaking  here  of  his  directing 
or  guiding  operations ;  in  other  words,  those,  which 
have  a  special  connection  with  human  conduct. 
These  are  the  operations,  which  most  intimately 
concern  us ;  and  in  regard  to  which  it  is  most  im- 
portant to  establish  correct  principles.  We  pro- 
ceed to  say,  therefore,  it  is  very  obvious  from  man's 
mental  structure,  although  he  is  sometimes  the 
subject  of  a  purely  instinctive  movement,  that  God 
designed,  that  the  perceptive  and  judging  powers, 
which  He  has  given  us,  should  ordinarily  furnish 
the  fundamental  condition  or  basis  of  human  ac- 
tion. And  if  in  his  spiritual  providences  it  should 
be  found  to  be  his  practice  to  guide  men  in  any 
way  not  in  accordance  with  this  design,  he  would 
be  inconsistent  with  himself.  The  first  principle, 
therefore,  which  we  lay  down  is  this,  that  the  Ho- 
ly Spirit  guides  men,  by  operating  in  connection 
with  the  perceptive  and  judging  powers. 

And  we  may  properly  remark  here,  that  this 
view,  which  is  so  important,  as  to  be  deserving  of 
33* 


390  DISTINCTION  BETWEEN  IMPULSES 

the  reflection  of  the  most  judicious  persons,  seems 
to  be  in  accordance  with  the  sentiments  of  the 
pious  and  learned  John  Howe.  "We  cannot" 
says  this  esteemed  writer,  "so  much  as  apprehend 
clearly  and  with  distinction  the  things  which  are 
needful  for  us  to  apprehend. m//iow<  the  light  of  the 
Spirit  of  wisdom.  It  is  necessary,  (viz.  the  light 
which  the  Spirit  of  wisdom  gives,)  in  order  to  the 
act  of  distinguishing  or  discerning,  between  things, 
what  is  to  be  done,  and  what  is  not  to  be  done. 
There  is  a  continual  need  through  the  whole  course 
of  our  spiritual  life,  for  the  using  of  such  a  discre- 
tive  judgment  between  things  and  things.  And  in 
reference  hereto,  there  needs  a  continual  ema- 
nation of  the  Holy  Ghost ,  for  otherwise  we  put 
good  for  evil  and  evil  for  good  ;  light  for  darkness 
and  darkness  for  light.  We  need  the  Spirit's  help, 
to  shine  with  vigorous  and  powerful  light  into  our 
minds,  so  as  to  bring  our  judgments  to  a  right  de- 
termination." 

Second. — We  may  lay  it  down  as  another  princi- 
ple, that  the  Holy  Spirit  does  not,  either  by  his 
gentle  influences  or  by  those  which  are  more  sud- 
den and  powerful,  so  operate  upon  a  person  as  to 
guide  him  into  any  course,  which  is  truly  irration- 
al and  absurd.  Now  we  know  in  many  cases,  if 
we  should  yield  to  the  direction  of  mere  impres- 
sions and  impulses,  especially  those  which  are  of  a 
powerful  kind,  we  should  be  led  to  do  those  things, 
which,  to  whatever  test  or  measurement  they  might 
be  subjected,  could  not  escape  the  denomination  of 
irrationality  or  absurdity.    Of  such  impulses  the  Ho- 


AND  A  SANCTIFfED  JUDGMENT.  391 

\y  Spirit  can  never  be  the  author,  because  nothing 
which  is  really  absurd  and  irrational,  (we  speak  not 
of  the  mere  appearance,  but  of  the  reality  of  absur- 
dity,) can  come  from  that  source.  I  recollect  once 
to  have  read  the  account  of  a  person,  ])ublished  by 
himself,  in  which  he  gives  the  reader  to  understand, 
that  on  a  certain  occasion  he  was  suddenly  and  vi- 
olently seized  by  the  power  of  God,  as  he  expres- 
ses it ;  an  expression  undoubtly  synonymous  in 
the  view  of  the  writer  with  the  power  of  the  Holy 
Ghost ;  that  he  was  raised  up  by  this  divine  im- 
pulse from  the  chest  on  which  he  was  sitting ,  and 
was  "whirled  swiftly  round,  like  a  top  for  the 
space  of  two  hours,  without  the  least  pain  or  incon- 
venience." AVe  do  not  see  on  what  grounds  such 
an  extraordinary  result  as  this,  so  unmeaning,  so 
unprofitable  and  absurd,  can  properly  be  ascribed 
to  the  power  of  God  or  the  power  of  the  Holy 
Ghost ;  especially  if  it  be  susceptible  of  explanation 
on  any  natural  principles.  We  know  that  the 
Savior  was  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  but  we  do  not 
read  of  his  being  subjected  to  any  operation  of  this 
kind.  We  know  also,  that  the  Apostles,  although 
they  were  plentifully  endowed  with  the  Divine 
Spirit,  and  under  his  teachings  wrought  various 
wonderful  works,  yet  were  never  at  any  time  made 
the  subjects  of  such  irrationalities.  We  have  here, 
therefore,  a  mark  of  distinction,  viz.  that  various 
irrational  and  absurd  results  may  flow  from  natur- 
al impressions  and  impulses;  but  can  never  flow 
from  the  true  operations  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

Third. — Actions,  which  proceed  from  pure  im- 


392  DISTINCTION  BETWEEN  IMPULSES 

pulse  or  a  mere  internal  impression  without  attend- 
ant perception  or  reflection,  cannot  possibly  be  ho- 
ly actions.  What  we  mean  to  say  is,  that  there  is 
a  natural  impossibility  of  their  being  such.  A 
mere  impulse,  unattended  by  perception  and  reflec- 
tion, is  of  the  nature  of  an  instinct.  And  any  ac- 
tion, done  from  mere  blind  impulse,  no  matter  how 
strong  or  extraordinary  that  impulse  may  be,  is 
both  physically  and  morally  of  the  nature  of  an 
instinctive  action.  Now  as  it  is  universally  conced- 
ed that  purely  instinctive  actions  have  no  moral 
character,  it  is  entirely  evident,  that  impulsive  ac- 
tions, which  are  of  the  same  nature  with  instinctive 
actions,  have  no  title  to  the  denomination  or  charac- 
ter of  holiness.  Some  persons  seem  to  think,  the 
more  they  act  from  impulse,  especially  powerful 
impulse,  the  more  holy  they  are.  But  this,  if  we 
are  correct  in  what  has  been  said,  is  a  great  and 
dangerous  mistake. 

Fourth. — That  the  Holy  Spirit  does  sometimes 
act  directly  upon  the  sensibilities  by  exciting  in 
them  a  purely  impulsive  feeling,  we  may  probably 
admit.  Undoubtedly  there  are  some  facts,  in  the 
experience  of  pious  men,  which  favor  this  view. 
But  is  it  the  object  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  in  origina- 
ting impulsive  impressions,  to  excite  men  to  imme- 
diate action  without  any  reflection,  or  to  excite 
them  to  action  rationally ;  that  is  to  say,  in  con- 
nection with  suitable  inquiry  and  consideration  7 
This  is  the  important  question.  And  the  decision 
of  it  involves  great  practical  results.  It  is  certain- 
ly reasonable  to  suppose,  that  it  is  not  the  object  of 


AND  A  SANCTIFIED  JUDGMENT.  393 

the  Holy  Spirit,  when  He  makes  a  direct  impulsive 
impression  on  the  human  mind,  to  lead  men  to  act 
without  perception  and  reflection ;  but  rather  to 
stop  them  in  their  thoughtless  and  unreflecting  ca- 
reer, and  to  awaken  within  them  the  slumbering 
powers  of  thought  and  inquiry.  It  is  reasonable 
to  suppose  this,  because  as  a  wise  being,  as  a  be- 
ing acting  in  accordance  with  the  laws  of  the  hu- 
man mind,  as  a  being  infinitely  desirous  of  true  ho- 
liness in  men,  we  do  not  well  perceive,  how  He 
can  take  any  other  course  than  this.  The  true 
tendency,  therefore,  of  those  impressions  or  impul- 
ses, which  come  from  the  Spirit  of  God,  is  to  awa- 
ken men  to  a  sense  of  their  thoughtlessness,  and  to 
quicken  within  them  a  state  of  humble  and  holy 
consideration.  When  such  impressions  and  impul- 
ses are  from  the  right  source,  we  cannot  doubt  that 
the  results  will  be  of  this  character.  That  is  to 
say ;  they  will  not  of  themselves  lead  men  to  di- 
rect action  ;  but  will  lead  them  to  that  inquiry  and 
reflection,  which  is  preparatory  to  action.  But 
when  impressions  or  impulses  come  from  Satan,  as 
they  sometimes  do,  their  tendency  is  to  lead  men 
to  action  at  once,  without  such  intermediate  con- 
sideration. 

Fifth. — Those  impulses  and  impressions,  which 
are  from  the  Spirit  of  God,  are  of  a  peaceful  and 
gentle  character.  They  never  agitate  and  disturb 
the  mind ;  but  on  the  contrary,  lay  a  wholesome 
restraint  upon  it ;  and  hold  it  in  a  state  of  deep 
solemnity  and  of  attentive  stillness.  This  is  the 
precise  state  of  things,  which  is  needed  as  prepay- 


394  DISTINCTION  BETWEEN  IMPULSES 

atory  to  the  mind's  perceptive  and  refiectiA'^e  action. 
The  first  question  of  the  soul,  when  it  is  thus  ar- 
rested by  the  true  impulses  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  is, 
"Lord,  what  wilt  Thou  have  me  to  do  7"  It  paus- 
es ;  it  reflects ;  it  inquires ;  it  reads  the  Bible ;  it 
watches  the  Providences  of  God  ;  it  prays  ;  it  asks 
for  the  assistance  of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  its  per- 
ceptions and  reasonings  ;  and  it  dares  not  take  one 
step  to  the  right  hand  or  to  the  left,  vmtil  all  its 
perceptive  and  reasoning  powers  have  been  exer- 
cised ;  and  exercised  too  under  the  sanctifying  guid- 
ance of  the  Holy  Spirit.  So  that,  although  we 
may  admit  that  there  are  sensitive  impressions, 
and  impulses,  which  are  from  the  Holy  Spirit; 
yet  they  are  not  of  themselves,  when  they  are 
really  from  that  right  and  good  source,  guiding  and 
controlling  principles,  but  are  merely  prepara- 
tory to  the  action  of  such  controlling  principles, 
which  are  to  be  found  in  the  intellective,  rath- 
er than  the  sensitive  part.  And  such  impres- 
sions are  to  be  known  by  the  decisive  mark 
or  characteristic,  which  has  now  been  given ; 
viz.  they  are  peaceable,  holding  the  mind  in  a  state 
of  solemn  and  quiet  attention. — Perhaps  a  simple 
illustration  will  make  our  meaning  more  readily 
miderstood.  A  person  is  at  a  particular  time  pe- 
culiarly impressed,  that  it  is  his  duty  to  visit  an- 
other person  and  converse  with  him  on  the  subject 
of  religion.  If  this  impression  is  of  divine  origin, 
it  will  not  violently  agitate  him  ;  it  will  not  lead 
him  to  action  whether  rationally  or  irrationally ;  it 
will  not  necessarily  and  absolutely  compel  him  to 


AND  A  SANCTIFIED  JUDGMENT.  395 

visit  the  person  at  once  and  without  any  interme- 
diate exercise  of  the  mind.  It  will  lead  him  in  the 
first  instance,  to  reflect,  to  consider  the  suggested  or 
impressed  duty  in  various  points  of  view,  to  mark 
the  openings  of  God's  Providence,  and  to  pray  that, 
in  his  reflections  and  inquiries  in  respect  to  duty, 
he  may  be  guided  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  In  a  word, 
the  impression,  which  he  has,  prompts  him,  in  the 
first  instance,  merely  to  make  prayerful  mquiry ; 
but  in  his  farther  action  he  puts  himself  under  the 
direction  of  a  sanctified  judgment ;  or  if  the  ex- 
pression be  preferred,  under  the  guidance  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  operating  through  the  medium  of  a 
sanctified  judgment.  In  accordance  with  these 
views,  we  find  the  following  passage  in  the  wri- 
tings of  Antonia  Bourignon.  "If  the  Holy  Spirit 
inspires  any  thing,  he  will  always  give  time  to 
consult  upon  it  with  God." 

Sixth. — Impressions  and  impulses,  which  are 
not  from  the  Holy  Spirit,  but  from  some  other 
source,  such  as  a  disordered  imagination,  the  world, 
or  the  devil,  are  not  of  that  peaceful  and  quiet  char- 
acter, which  has  been  mentioned ;  but  are  hasty  and 
violent.  In  violation  of  the  great  Scriptural  maxim, 
"he,  that  believeth,  shall  not  make  haste,"  the  per- 
son, who  is  under  this  pernicious  influence,  thinks  he 
cannot  be  too  quick.  He  makes  but  little  account 
of  obstacles ;  he  cannot  take  time  for  interior  ex- 
amination ;  he  has  no  open  eye  to  God's  outward 
providences ;  he  is  too  impetuous,  too  much  pos- 
sessed by  himself  or  by  Satanic  influence,  to  en- 
gage in  calm  and  humble  prayer  for  guidance :  in 


396  DISTINCTION  BETWEEN  IMPULSES 

a  word,  he  rushes  bhndly  onward  just  as  his 
great  adversary,  who  is  especially  interested  in 
his  movements,  would  have  him. 

The  great  plea  of  these  persons  is,  that  the  time 
is  NOW ;  that  what  is  to  be  done  is  to  be  done  now  ; 
that  the  present  moment  is  the  true  moment  of 
action.  This  is  essentially  true ;  but  there  is  a 
valuable  remark  of  Fenelon,  which  places  the  doc- 
trine of  present  or  immediate  action  in  its  correct 
position.  It  is,  that  the  present  moment  has  a 
MORAL  extension.  Iu  Other  words,  we  are  un- 
doubtedly bound  to  fulfil  the  duty  of  the  present 
moment ;  but  it  is  the  present  moment,  not  in  a 
state  of  barren  insulation,  but  considered  in  all  its 
relations  to  God,  man,  and  the  universe.  But  it  is 
perfectly  obvious,  that  the  duties  of  the  present 
moment  cannot  be  fulfilled  in  their  moral  exten- 
sion, without  calling  in  the  aid  of  a  calmly  reflec- 
tive and  sanctified  judgment. 

Seventh. — When  an  action  is  performed,  to 
which  we  are  prompted  by  a  gracious  and  not  a 
mere  natural  or  Satanic  impulse,  but  which  action 
is  not  attended  with  all  those  good  results,  which 
we  expected  and  hoped,  we  are  entirely  acquies- 
cent. We  receive  the  result  without  trouble  of 
mind.  For  instance,  we  are  led  in  the  providence 
of  God  and  under  the  guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
to  converse  with  a  person  on  the  subject  of  religion  ; 
and  contrary  to  our  hope  and  expectation,  he  cool- 
ly and  superciliously  rejects  our  message.  The  re- 
sult, though  painful,  does  not  disquiet  us.  We 
leave  it  calmly  in  the  hands  of  God.     Whereas  a 


AND  A  SANCTIFIED  JUDGMENT.  397 

person,  who  performs  an  action  from  an  impulse, 
which  is  not  from  the  Spirit  ol  God,  and  who  finds 
the  result  different  from  what  he  expected,  will  be 
likely  to  experience  a  degree  of  unsubmissive  dis- 
satisfaction, and  to  show  signs  of  fretfulness.  And 
I  think  it  a  matter  of  common  observation,  that 
Christians,  who  are  governed  in  a  considerable  de- 
gree by  natural  or  any  other  impulses  not  divine, 
mistaking  them  for  a  truly  spiritual  guidance,  are, 
to  use  the  common  expression  in  the  case,  "  always 
in  trouble;" — sometimes  with  the  church;  some- 
times with  their  minister ;  sometimes  with  one 
thing,  and  sometimes  with  another ;  and  alas,  not 
unfrequently,  although  they  seem  to  be  wholly  un- 
aware of  it,  with  the  holy  Providences  of  God  him- 
self. They  are  not  childlike,  and  meek,  and  lowly 
in  heart;  as  those  always  are,  who  are  truly  guided 
by  the  Holy  Spirit.  They  are  not  like  the  Savior, 
who,  when  he  was  oppressed  and  afflicted,  opened 
not  his  mouth,  but  was  led  as  a  lamb  to  the 
slaughter. 

Eighth. — We  are  continually  taught  by  good 
men  and  in  the  Bible,  that  we  ought  to  be  like  our 
Heavenly  Father,  to  be  holy  as  he  is  holy,  to  be 
perfect  as  he  is  perfect.  And  I  suppose  it  is  the 
general  design  and  aim  of  Christians,  who  are  stri- 
ving after  high  attainments  in  holiness,  to  bear  this 
blessed  image.  But  probably  we  do  not  any  of  us 
conceive  of  God  as  acting  impulsively  and  without 
reflection ;  as  regulating  his  conduct  by  the  stupid 
instinct  of  impressions,  without  the  clear  light  of 
perceptive  rationality.  We  should  be  deeply  af- 
34 


398  DISTINCTION  BETWEEN  IMPULSES 

flicted  and  affrighted,  in  being  obliged  to  ascribe  to 
our  Heavenly  Father  such  a  character  as  this. 
Similar  views  will  apply  to  the  Savior.  He  him- 
self says,  John  5  :  30,  "I  can  of  mine  own  self  do 
nothing.  As  I  hear,  I  judge ;  [that  is  to  say,  the 
communications  of  the  Holy  Spirit  call  my  judg- 
ment into  exercise,]  and  my  judgment  is  just,  be- 
cause, [implying  in  the  remark  that  he  was  unin- 
fluenced by  any  suggestions  and  impressions  from 
self,]  I  seek  not  my  own  will,  but  the  will  of  the 
Father,  which  hath  sent  me."  Are  we  not  safe, 
then,  if  God  desires  and  requires  us  to  be  like  him- 
self, and  to  be  like  him  also,  whom  in  the  likeness 
of  man  He  has  set  before  us  as  our  example,  in 
saying,  that  a  judgment,  enlightened  by  the  Holy 
Spirit,  is  the  true  guide  of  our  actions,  rather  than 
blind  impulses  and  impressions  7 

It  will  be  recollected,  that  we  do  not  absolutely 
deny  the  occasional  existence  of  impulses  and  im- 
pressions, resulting  from  the  operations  of  the  Spir- 
it of  God.  But  we  cannot  well  avoid  the  conclu- 
sion, that  they  are  entitled  to  no  influence,  and  are 
not  designed  to  have  any,  except  in  connection 
with  the  subsequent  action  of  an  awakened  and 
sanctified  judgment.  And  it  is  this  view  only, 
which  can  rescue  them  from  the  imputation  of 
blindness  and  irrationality,  even  when  they  come 
from  a  good  and  right  source.  When,  therefore, 
we  speak  of  them  as  blind  and  irrational,  we  wish 
to  be  understood  as  speaking  of  them,  as  they  are 
in  themselves,  and  without  being  enlightened  by 
the  subsequent  action  of  a  sanctified  intellect.     The 


AND  A  SANCTIFIED  JUDGMENT.  399 

subsequent  action  of  the  mind,  which  may  al- 
ways be  expected  to  follow  when  they  come  from 
the  Holy  Spirit,  cannot  fail  to  impart  to  them  a 
new  and  interesting  character. 

In  conclusion  we  would  remark,  that  the  doc- 
trine of  present  sanctification  has  much  to  fear 
from  not  accurately  distinguishing  natural  and 
Satanic  impulses  from  the  true  movings  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  upon  the  heart.  Many,  who  ran  well 
for  a  time,  but  who  afterwards  yielded  themselves 
to  impulsive  influences  which  were  not  from  the 
Spirit  of  God,  have  wandered  into  perplexed  and 
divergent  paths,  to  the  injury  of  the  cause  of  ho- 
liness and  of  their  own  souls.  And  we  would  just 
remark  here,  that  the  most  interesting  and  satisfac- 
tory illustrations  of  holy  living,  which  have  come 
under  our  notice,  are  the  cases  of  persons,  who  en- 
deavor constantly  to  put  themselves  under  the  di- 
rection of  a  sanctified  intellect ;  who  are  willing  to 
do  any  thing  and  every  thing  for  the  glory  of  God  ; 
but  who  feel  that  they  need  and  must  have  wisdom. 
These  persons  can  testify,  that  they  are  guided  by 
the  Holy  Spirit ;  but  they  can  testify  also,  that  the 
Holy  Spirit  does  not  require  them  to  do  any  thing, 
which  an  enlightened  and  sanctified  intellect  does 
not  appreciate  and  approve.  And  hence  their 
course  is  marked  by  consistency  and  sound  discre- 
tion. They  are  not  diflferent  men  at  different  times, 
on  whom  no  dependence  can  be  placed.  They  are 
always  at  their  post ;  supporters  of  the  ministry  ; 
pillars  in  the  church ;  patient  imder  opposition  and 
rebuke ;  faithful  in  warning  sinners ;  counsellors 


400  ON  THE  GRACE  OF  SILENCE  AS  A  MEANS 

in  times  of  difficulty ;  mighty  in  the  Scriptures ; 
burning  and  shining  lights  in  the  world.  It  is  such 
persons,  that  truly  sustain  and  honor  the  blessed 
doctrine  of  Holiness;  presenting  before  the  world 
the  mighty  argument  of  consistent  holy  living, 
which  unbelievers  cannot  confute,  and  which  the 
wicked  and  the  envious  are  unable  to  gainsay. 


CHAPTER  THIRTY-EIGHTH. 


On  the  grace  of  Silence  as  a  means  of  sustaining 
a  Holy  Life. 


The  regulation  of  the  tongue  has  a  close  connec- 
tion, perhaps  more  so  than  is  generally  imagined, 
with  the  permanent  support  of  the  interior  life. 

In  the  first  place,  a  great  freedom  in  the  use  of 
the  tongue,  an  incontinence  of  speech,  if  we  may 
so  express  it,  necessarily  involves  a  loss  of  time. 
When  people  meet  together,  as  they  generally  do, 
without  recollection  in  God,  how  many  things  are 
said,  which  are  obviously  unprofitable  ;  hut  which, 
nevertheless,  do  not  occupy  less  time,  on  account 
of  their  inutility.  It  was  one  of  the  rules  of  con- 
duct, laid  down  by  that  devoted  servant  of  God, 
Herman  Franke,  "not  to  make  the  things  of  this 


OF  SUSTAINING  A  HOLY  LIFE.  401 

world  a  subject  of  conversation,  except  when  God 
may  be  honored,  or  good  done  to  our  neighbor 
thereby."  The  appUcation  of  some  rule  of  this 
kind  to  the  conversation  of  the  great  mass  of  Chris- 
tians, would  undoubtedly  show,  that  much  of  it 
neither  honors  God  nor  benefits  their  neighbor; 
and  that,  consequently,  the  precious  time,  which  it 
requires,  is  lost.  But  he,  who  is  fully  resolved  to 
walk  in  holiness  before  the  Lord,  cannot  deliber- 
ately waste  his  time.  It  is  a  precious  deposit, 
which  his  heavenly  Father  has  committed  to  his 
trust ;  and  for  which  he  is  responsible.  We  re- 
peat, therefore,  that  a  holy  person  cannot  deliber- 
ately waste  it;  and  consequently  he  will  feel  con- 
strained by  the  most  serious  reasons,  to  refrain  from 
frivolous  and  useless  conversation. 

(2.) — But  this  is  not  all.  We  remark,  in  the 
second  place,  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  speak 
much,  without  saying  that,  which  is  positively  in- 
jurious, as  well  as  unprofitable.  It  would  be  un- 
reasonable to  expect  to  indulge  freely  in  conversa- 
tion with  others,  in  the  manner  in  which  men  com- 
monly do,  without  conforming,  in  part  at  least,  to 
their  own  views  and  terms  of  social  intercourse. 
In  other  words,  we  seem  to  be  under  the  necessity 
of  sympathizing,  to  some  extent,  with  their  trains 
of  thought  and  experience  ;  and  are  not  at  liberty 
wholly  to  reject  subjects,  which  are  pleasing  to 
them.  A.nd  who  does  not  know,  that,  acting  on 
this  view,  we  are  often  introduced  to  various  top- 
ics, which,  both  in  their  nature  and  tendency,  are 
exceedingly  remote  from  a  religious  and  edifying 
34* 


402  ON  THE  GRACE  OF  SILENCE  AS  A  MEANS 

character.  How  large  a  portion,  for  instance,  of 
the  conversation  of  the  great  mass  of  mankind  is 
taken  up  with  censorious  and  unfavorable  com- 
ments on  the  conduct  of  their  neighbors.  How 
much  there  is  of  expressed  or  hinted  suspicion  ! 
How  much  of  back-biting  and  slander !  Now,  if 
we  would  not  be  accessory  to  sins  of  this  kind,  we 
must  learn  the  difficult  art  of  controlling  the  tongue, 
and  of  forming  habits  of  conscientious  silence. 

(3.) — Again,  too  much  conversation  has  an  inju- 
rious effect  upon  the  religious  interests  of  the  mind, 
in  addition  to  what  has  already  been  said,  by  fil- 
ling the  soul  with  many  vain  and  useless  thoughts. 
All  such  thoughts  take  up  more  or  less  of  the  mind's 
attention;  and  just  so  far  as  it  is  so  occupied,  it  is 
necessarily  deprived  of  the  consciousness  of  God's 
sweet  and  purifying  presence.  Such  are  the  laws 
of  the  mind,  that  it  cannot  possibly  be  occupied 
with  God  and  a  multitude  of  worldly  vanities  at 
the  same  time.  And  in  addition  to  this,  it  should 
be  remembered,  that  words  are  one  of  the  outward 
signs  and  natural  expressions  of  the  inward  pas- 
sions ;  and  that  the  passions  generally  gain  strength 
by  being  outwardly  expressed.  This  is  especially 
the  case  with  the  angry  passions.  On  the  contra- 
ry, they  generally  wither  and  die  under  a  system 
of  repression  and  silence.  So  that  by  maintaining 
a  judicious  practice  of  silence,  we  shall  not  only 
find  our  thoughts  less  liable  to  wander  and  more 
collected  in  God,  than  they  would  otherwise  be ; 
but  shall  also  find  the  exciting  passions,  when  thus 
deprived   of  the   powerful  stimulation  of  words, 


OF  SUSTAINING  A  HOLY  LIFE.  403 

more  submissive,  and  more  perfectly  under  con- 
trol. 

(4.) — Again,  outward  silence  favors  inward  si- 
lence. In  other  words,  it  promotes  inward  and 
spiritual  rest  ;  a  cessation  from  that  inordinate 
and  grasping  activity,  which  is  prompted  by  the 
life  of  nature.  This  is  involved,  in  part,  in  what 
has  already  been  said ;  but  it  is  worthy  of  a  distinct 
and  particular  notice.  The  utterance  of  words  neces- 
sarily connects  us  with  things  outward  to  ourselves ; 
and  sometimes  implicates  us  very  strongly  with 
scenes,  transactions,  and  interests  of  an  external  and 
generally  of  a  worldly  character.  But  the  natural 
and  almost  necessary  result  of  outward  silence  is 
the  retrocession  of  the  soul  into  itself,  and,  in  gen- 
eral, a  decided  tendency  to  the  resumption  of  inward 
peace.  And  this  state  of  things,  as  we  have  already 
had  occasion  to  notice,  is  favorable  to  the  entrance, 
in-dwellings,  and  operations  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  It 
is  in  such  a  soul  much  more  than  in  others,  that 
the  great  Comforter  and  Teacher  loves  to  take  up 
his  residence  and  to  expand  his  benign  influences. 
"As  much  as  lies  in  thy  power,"  says  the  devout 
Kempis,"shun  the  resorts  of  worldly  men  ;  for  much 
con\'ersation  on  worldly  business, however  innocent- 
ly managed,  greatly  retards  the  progress  of  the  spir- 
itual life.  We  are  soon  captivated  by  vain  objects, 
and  employments,  and  soon  defiled.  And  I  have 
wished  a  thousand  times,  that  I  had  either  not 
been  in  company  or  had  been  silent." 

(5.) — It  should  also  have  great  weight  with  us, 
that  the  Scriptures  impart  so  much  instruction  on 


404  ON  THE  GRACE  OF  SILENCE  AS  A  MEANS 

this  subject.  So  liable  are  we  to  offend  in  the  use 
of  the  tongue,  and  so  difficult  is  it  to  regulate  our- 
selves in  this  respect,  that  we  are  told  by  the  Apos- 
tle James,  "If  any  man  offend  not  in  word,  the 
same  is  a  perfect  man,  and  able  also  to  bridle  the 
whole  body."  In  Proverbs  also,  21  :  .23,  it  is  said, 
"Whoso  keepcth  his  mouth  and  his  tongue,  keepeth 
his  soul  from  troubles."  There  are  other  passages 
of  similar  import ;  but  how  little,  notwithstanding, 
is  the  importance  of  properly  regulating  our  speech 
realized.  Some  persons,  even  some  Christians, 
seem  to  think,  (if  we  may  be  allowed  to  judge  from 
their  conduct,)  that  crime  may  attach  to  almost 
any  form  of  human  action  but  this.  Oh,  that  they 
would  remember  the  words  of  the  Savior  ;  words, 
which  should  be  engraven  upon  the  heart  of  every 
one,  who  aims  at  holiness  !  "But  I  say  unto  you, 
that  every  idle  word  that  men  shall  speak,  they 
shall  give  account  thereof  in  the  day  of  judgment. 
For  by  thy  words  thou  shalt  be  justified  ;  and  by 
thy  words  shalt  thou  be  condemned." 

But  some  will  perhaps  inquire,  whether  we  may 
not  converse  much,  if  our  object  be  to  do  good.  I 
admit  that  we  may,  if  we  can  do  more  good  in  this 
way,  including  what  we  owe  to  ourselves  as  well 
as  what  we  owe  to  others,  than  we  can  by  a  judi- 
cious mixture  of  conversation  and  silence.  But 
then  we  should  consider,  that  we  cannot  reasonably 
expect  to  do  much  good,  without  a  heart  richly  re- 
plenished with  divine  grace.  And  I  believe  it  is  a 
common  opinion,  that  the  disbursements  of  fre- 
quent talking,  without  the  incomes  of  a  prayerful 


OF  SUSTAINING  A  HOLY  LIFE.  405 

silence,  generally  result,  and  very  rapidly  too,  in 
the  evaporation  and  loss  of  the  inward  life.  And 
accordingly  it  is  a  frequent  saying,  that  a  man 
may,  in  a  modified  sense  of  the  expressions,  "talk 
away  his  religion."  And  it  may  be  added  further, 
as  in  accordance  with  Avhat  has  now  been  said,  that 
pious  ministers  not  unfrequently  lament,  that  calls 
for  outward  action  and  for  much  speaking  to  oth- 
ers leave  them  too  little  time  for  interior  retire- 
ment, and  for  seasons  of  spiritual  refreshment 
and  advancement,  by  communication  with  the 
Everlasting  Fountain. 

In  connection  with  the  subject,  we  proceed  to 
make  a  few  brief  practical  remarks.  And  the  first, 
which  we  have  to  make,  relates  to  the  manner  of 
our  conversation,  viz.  We  should  make  it  a  gen- 
eral rule  to  avoid  expressing  ourselves  in  a  very 
emphatic  and  passionate  manner,  and  with  a  high 
tone  of  voice.  It  is  well  understood,  that  such  a 
method  of  outward  expression  reacts  upon  the 
mind,  and  has  a  tendency  to  produce  an  excited 
and  inordinate  state  of  the  feelings  within.  And 
besides,  it  is  generally  unpleasant  and  unprofitable 
to  the  hearers.  It  will  be  noticed,  that  we  are  not 
speaking  here  of  public  occasions,  in  respect  to 
which  the  rule  must  be  adopted  with  its  appropri- 
ate restrictions,  but  of  conversation.  And  I  think 
we  may  profitably  add  here,  that  the  rule  is  capa- 
ble of  some  extension.  A  truly  consecrated  per- 
son will  not  only  be  characterized  by  quietness  of 
manner,  so  far  as  words  and  voice  are  concerned ; 
but  also  in  other  outward  respects.     His  counten- 


40G  ON  THE  GRACE  OF  SILENCE  AS  A  MEANS 

ance,  his  action,  his  general  movement  will  be  per- 
vaded, in  a  great  measure,  by  the  same  beautiful 
and  Christ-like  trait. 

Another  remark  is,  that  we  should  be  careful 
not  to  speak  much  of  ourselves  and  of  our  own  af- 
fairs. There  are  undoubtedly  some  exceptions  to 
this  view ;  especially  when  suitable  opportunities 
present  themselves  of  speaking  of  God's  dealings 
with  our  souls.  But,  nevertheless,  this  seems  to  be 
the  correct  general  rule.  Such  conversations,  viz. 
those  which  turn  frequently  and  almost  exclusive- 
ly upon  ourselves,  besides  not  being  in  general  ed- 
ifying to  others,  are  apt,  by  directing  our  thoughts 
from  the  glory  of  God  to  the  persons  and  the  af- 
fairs of  the  creature,  to  reanimate  and  strengthen 
the  dying  life  of  self. 

Again,  it  is  not  religiously  profitable  to  make 
the  persons  and  concerns  of  our  neighbors  the  fre- 
quent subjects  of  our  discourse,  unless  it  be  for 
the  purpose  of  saying  what  we  know  can  proper- 
ly be  said  in  their  favor,  of  vindicating  them 
against  aspersions,  or  for  some  other  good  and 
charitable  purpose.  This  rule  too  has,  in  practice, 
its  appropriate  limitations,  which  a  judicious  piety 
will  be  likely  to  suggest. 

The  only  further  practical  remark,  which  we 
wish  to  make  on  this  subject  at  present,  is,  that, 
when  we  are  falsely  spoken  against,  or  in  some 
other  way  greatly  injured,  we  should  not,  as  a  gen- 
eral rule,  be  hasty  to  reply.  The  life  of  nature 
would  prompt  us  to  reply  quickly,  to  vindicate 
ourselves  at  all  hazards ;  and  sometimes  perhaps 


OF  SUSTAINING  A  HOLY  LIFE.  407 

with  a  considerable  degree  of  sharpness  and  vio- 
lence. But  the  gentle  spirit  of  Christ  in  the  soul, 
which  says,  "without  my  Father  I  can  do  nothing," 
always  leads  us  to  look  to  God  for  aid  and  direc- 
tion, before  we  look  to  ourseh'es  and  our  own  wis- 
dom, or  to  the  precipitate  help  of  earthly  friends.  It 
was  thus  with  the  prophet  Daniel.  When  misrep- 
resented, injured,  and  persecuted,  he  at  once  turn- 
ed his  thoughts  to  God  as  his  only  protection.  In 
his  solitary  chamber,  kneeling  before  the  face  of 
the  Infinite  Presence,  and  with  no  disposition  to 
look  any  where  else,  he  entrusted  his  cause  to  Him, 
who  alone  is  able  to  help.  The  example  of  the 
Savior  also,  in  relation  to  this  subject,  is  particu- 
larly instructive.  When  brought  to  trial  before 
Pilate,  although  he  could  easily  have  made  a  de- 
fence, he  chose  to  be  silent ;  "he  answered  him  to 
never  a  icord,  in  so  much  that  the  Governor  marvel- 
led greatly."  In  the  language  of  the  evangelical 
prophet,  "He  was  oppressed  and  he  was  afflicted, 
yet  he  opened  not  his  mouth ;  he  is  brought  as  a 
lamb  to  the  slaughter,  and  as  a  sheep  before  her 
shearers  is  dumb,  so  he  opened  not  his  mouth." — 
The  deep  grace,  which  manifests  itself  by  patience 
and  silence  under  the  circumstances  which  have 
been  mentioned,  will  plead  far  more  eloquently  in 
our  behalf,  than  all  the  torrent  of  words  and  all 
the  vivacity  of  eflbrt,  which  the  life  of  nature  is 
so  ready  to  pour  forth. 


^r  CHAPTER    THIRTY-NINTH. 

On  the  trae  idea  of  interior  annihilation  or  nothingness. 

When  we  use  the  phrase  "interior  annihilation," 
we  of  course  use  it  in  a  mitigated  or  qualified  sense, 
as  meaning  not  an  entire  extinction  of  any  princi- 
ples within  us,  but  only  an  extinction  of  certain  ir- 
regularities of  their  action.  In  other  words,  it 
is  not  an  absolute  annihilation ;  but  only  the  anni- 
hilation of  any  thing  and  every  thing  which  is 
wrong;  the  annihilation  of  what  the  Scriptures 
call  the  "old  man,"  in  distinction  from  the  "new 
man,  created  anew  in  Christ  Jesus."  Perhaps  we 
should  not  refer  to  this  form  of  expression  at  all, 
nor  make  any  remarks  upon  it,  although  it  is  some- 
times a  convenient  one  in  the  description  of  inter- 
nal experience,  were  it  not  that  it  is  often  em- 
ployed, or  some  phrase  of  equivalent  import,  in 
writers,  particularly  those  of  an  ancient  date,  on 
the  interior  religious  life-  I  believe,  also,  it  is  quite 
common  among  many  Christians  at  the  present 
time,  to  speak  in  rather  a  loose  way  of  their  Noth- 
ingness, of  the  importance  of  feeling  that  they  are 
Nothing,  and  the  like;  which  shows  that  this  form 
of  expression  indicates  the  existence  of  some  great 


I 


ON  THE  TRUE  IDEA  OF  IXTERIOR  ANNIHILATION.    409 

practical  truth,  although  it  may  be  but  indistinctly- 
developed,  which  is  clear  to  the  religious  mind. 
We  shall  give  our  ideas  on  this  subject,  as  plainly 
and  concisely  as  we  can. 

First.— The  state  of  inward  annihilation  is  char- 
acterized, in  the  first  place,  by  the  extinction  of 
all  unregulated  or  unsanctified  love  of  created 
things,  or  "love  of  the  creatures,"  as  it  is  sometimes 
expressed.  Accordingly,  we  cannot  say  that  a 
person  is  interiorly  lost  or  annihilated,  who  is  in 
any  degree  the  slave  of  his  appetites.  The  action 
of  the  appetites,  when  directed  to  their  original  ob- 
jects, and  when  subjected  to  the  regulation  of  a 
purified  conscience,  is  undoubtedly  consistent  with 
this  state  :  that  is  to  say,  when  they  are  exercised, 
not  from  a  view  to  the  mere  pleasure  which  they 
aftbrd,  but  in  accordance  with  their  primitive  con- 
stitution, and  consequently  in  accordance  with  the 
will  of  God.  But  he,  who  takes  delight  in  the 
pleasures  of  the  senses,  and  indulges  the  lower  ap- 
petites of  our  nature,  that  the  attendant  pleasures, 
rather  than  the  original  objects  of  the  sens.es  may 
be  realized,  has  not  so  crucified  and  slain  himself, 
that  he  can  be  said  to  be  inwardly  annihilated. 
There  is  still  within  himself  the  germination  and 
the  growth  of  that  form  of  selfish  gratification, 
which  may  properly  be  called  a  "love  of  the  crea- 
tures." 

A  similar  statement  may  be  made  in  regard  to 

those    principles,     which   are    understood   to    be 

higher   in  rank  than  the  Appetites ;  and  which, 

in  order  to  distinguish  them  from  the  lower   or  ap- 

3.5 


% 


410         ON  THE  TRUE  IDEA  OF  INTERIOR 

petitive  part  of  our  nature,  may  properly  be  de- 
nominated the  Propensities  and  the  Affections ; 
such  as  the  social  propensity,  the  desire  of  knowl- 
edge, the  desire  of  esteem,  the  filial  affection,  the  pa- 
rental affection,  friendship,  and  the  love  of  country. 
If  these  propensive  principles  and  affections,  what- 
ever comparative  rank  they  may  sustain,  are  not 
perfectly  subordinated  to  the  principle  of  supreme 
love  to  God,  if  they  exist  in  such  a  degree  as  to  be 
in  conflict  with  what  the  law  of  God  requires,  then 
it  is  very  clear  that  the  state  of  mind  does  not  ex- 
ist, which,  in  the  language  of  religious  experience, 
is  denominated  "interior  annihilation."  There  is 
still  a  vigorous  portion  of  the  life  of  the  "old  man," 
which  has  not  been  slain.  And  hence  it  is,  that 
we  lay  down  the  extinction  of  the  love  of  created 
things  or  "love  of  the  creatures,"  with  the  expla- 
nation and  illustration  of  the  meaning  of  the  terms 
just  given,  as  one  of  the  characteristics  of  the  state 
of  mind  under  consideration.  Of  a  person,  who  is 
thus  interiorly  annihilated,  it  can  be  truly  said, 
"he  is  .crucified  to  the  world,  and  the  world  is  cru- 
cified to  him." 

Second. — Another  mark  or  characteristic  of  that 
state  of  mind,  which  is  described  as  interior  anni- 
hilation, is  the  extinction  of  self-will.  He,  who  is  an- 
nihilated and  lost  to  himself,  has  no  will  of  his  own. 
We  ought  to  remark  here,  that,  when  we  speak  of 
the  extinction  of  inordinate  creature  love  and  of 
self-will,  we  do  not  mean  to  imply,  that  the  mind 
is  rendered  naturally  or  physically  incapable  of 
such  irregular  exercises.     But    merely  that    the 


ANNIHILATION  OR  NOTHINGNESS.  411 

work  of  grace  on  the  heart  has  been  so  deep,  that 
there  is,  at  the  present  time,  a  practical  extinction  of 
all  such  wrong  internal  acts.  We  are  no  longer 
troubled  with  them.  Acting  from  supreme  love  to 
God  has  become  the  confirmed  principle  and  habit 
of  the  mind  ;  so  that  sensual  pleasure,  and  world- 
ly applause,  and  private  ends  of  whatever  kind, 
have  lost  their  power.  We  have  no  pleasure  of 
our  own ;  we  have  no  desires  of  our  own ;  we  have 
no  will  of  our  own.  Under  all  circumstances,  re- 
jecting all  wisdom  and  all  plans  originating  in  our- 
selves, our  inquiry  is  "What  wilt  thou  have  me  to 
do  7"  "God  within  us,"  the  divine  image,  living 
operatively  in  the  soul,  is  the  all-powerful  and  ab- 
sorbing principle. 

Third. — The  state  of  interior  nothingness  is 
characterized,  further,  by  the  extinction  of  the  pow- 
er of  antecedent  evil  habits.  /A  person  may  be 
sanctified  to  God,  his  heart  may  be  pure  in  the  di- 
vine sight,  and  still  there  may  be  a  constant  strug- 
gle on  the  part  of  the  "old  man"  or  the  "old  na- 
ture," to  regain  possession,  j  It  is  difficult  to  ex- 
plain this,  viz.  that  a  truly  holy  heart  may  still 
have  a  struggle  antagonistical  to  sin,  and  oftentimes 
a  fearful  struggle  ;  but  it  is  probably  owing,  in  ad- 
dition to  the  direct  temptations  of  Satan,  to  the 
tremendous  power  of  antecedent  evil  habits.  The 
principle  of  self-love,  for  instance,  may  by  divine 
grace  be  redeemed  from  its  selfish  attitude,  and 
may  be  brought  to  its  true  subjective  position  and 
become  a  holy  principle ;  and  yet,  in  consequence 
of  its  previous  habits  of  inordinate  exercise,  there 


412        ON  THE  TRUE  IDEA  OF  INTERIOR 

may  be  a  strong  tendency,  which  requires  constant 
resistance,  to  resume  its  former  position  of  irregu- 
larity and  sin.  This  tendency  is  not,  properly 
speaking,  in  the  principle  itself;  but  is  forced  upon 
it  exteriorly,  if  we  may  so  express  it,  by  the  law  of 
habit;  and  therefore,  although  it  is  extremely  dan- 
gerous, it  does  not  appear  to  be  necessarily  sinful. 
The  idea  may  here  perhaps  be  illustrated  in  the 
case  of  the  reformed  inebriate.  He  has  refrained 
from  drinking;  but  the  influence  of  the  antecedent 
law  of  habit  is  still  felt  in  his  system.  He  is  no 
longer  guilty  of  the  sin  of  drinking;  but  his  liabili- 
ty to  fall  into  this  sin  is  greatly  increased  by  his 
antecedent  evil  habit.  There  is,  undoubtedly, 
something  mysterious  in  this  ;  but  it  seems,  never- 
theless, to  be  true.  He  feels  that,  in  consequence 
of  his  former  evil  habits,  the  enemy  is  near  at  hand 
and  in  great  power ;  that  his  danger  is  thereby  in- 
creased, and  that  he  must  always  be  in  the  atti- 
tude of  watchfulness  and  of  resistance.  (Something 
like  this  is  the  case  with  those,  who  have  just  en- 
tered into  that  state,  where  they  can  say,  they 
"love  the  Lord  with  all  their  heart."  The  enemy 
is  cast  out;  but  he  avails  himself  of  the  influence 
of  the  law  of  habit,  to  take  a  hostile  attitude  and 
to  seek  a  re-entrance. 

Now  when  a  person  has  experienced  the  state 
of  interior  nothingness,  as  it  is  conveniently,  per- 
haps, and  yet  not  accurately  termed,  he  has,  by  di- 
vine grace,  not  only  succeeded  in  conquering  sin 
in  the  gigantic  forms  of  creature-love  and  of  self- 
will,  but  in  breaking  down   the   perplexing  inflii- 


ANNIHILATION  OR  NOTHINGNESS.  413 

ence  and  the  unfavorable  tendency  of  former  hab- 
its. And  hence  there  is  a  vast  accession  to  his 
power,  and  to  his  tendency  to  union  with  God. 
Satan  himself,  in  the  presentation  of  his  tempta- 
tions, has  comparatively  but  little  influence  over 
such  a  soul.  He  has,  comparatively  speaking,  no 
basis  to  operate  upon,  no  way  of  secret,  circuitous, 
and  indirect  attack ;  but  must  come  boldly  up  and 
make  his  attack,  face  to  face,  as  he  did  in  his 
temptation  of  the  blessed  Savior.  And  this  he 
would  rather  not  do,  if  he  can  approach  the  object 
of  his  attack  in  some  other  way. 

Fourth. — It  is  a  further  characteristic  of  the 
mental  state,  which  we  are  considering,  that  a 
person  in  this  state  of  mind  has  no  disposition  to 
exercise  self-reflecting  acts,  originating  either  in  un- 
due self-love  or  in  a  want  of  faith.  What  I  mean 
to  say  is,  that,  when  he  has  done  his  duty,  he  no 
longer  turns  back  upon  himself  and  asks,  as  the 
half-way  Christian  often  does.  What  does  the 
world  think  of  me  ?  Divested  of  all  selfish  purpo- 
ses and  aims,  and  having  no  will  of  his  own,  he 
acts  deliberately  and  supremely  for  God ;  and  there- 
fore he  feels  that  whatever  is  done,  so  far  as  mo- 
tives and  intentions  are  concerned,  is  well  done. 
In  that  respect  no  trouble  enters  his  mind.  There 
is  no  need  of  retrospection  ;  no  need  of  apologies 
to  cavillers.  Indeed,  he  can  scarcely  be  said  to 
exercise  retrospective  acts  and  reflections  upon 
himself  in  any  sense  whatever.  Such  acts  seem 
to  be,  to  some  extent,  inconsistent  with  the  fact, 
that  his  heart  is  fixed  exclusively  upon  an  object 
35* 


414  ON  THE  TRUE  IDEA  OF  INTERIOR 

out  of  himself.  (What  is  done  stands  written  in  the 
record  of  his  Divine  Master ;  and  there  he  leaves 
it.  His  whole  soul  is  given  to  the  present  moment. 
The  present  moment  is  given  to  God.  / 

Fifth. — Another  and  remarkable  characteristic 
of  this  state  of  mind  is  this.  He,  who  is  the  sub- 
ject of  it,  is  dead  and  crucified  to  all  internal  joys 
also,  as  well  as  to  all  pleasures  and  joys  of  an  ex- 
lernal  kind.  He  has  no  sympathy  with  those,  who 
are  always  crying,  "Make  me  happy."  "Pay  me 
AvcU.  and  I  will  be  holy."  Personal  happiness,  as 
a  supreme  or  even  a  separate  object  of  desire,  never 
enters  his  thought.  It  makes  no  difference  what 
the  form  of  that  happiness  is,  whether  pleasures  of 
the  senses  or  pleasures  of  the  mind.  He  is  willing 
to  abandon  and  sacrifice  even  the  pure  and  sublime 
pleasure,  almost  the  only  consolation  left  to  him  in 
this  sad  world,  which  flows  from  communion  with 
those,  who,  like  himself,  are  sanctified  to  God. 
His  true  happiness  consists  in  hanging  upon  the 
Cross,  and  in  being  crucified  to  self.  Whether  he 
is  tempted  or  not  tempted,  interiorly  and  in  the  bot- 
tom of  his  heart  he  can  say,  all  is  well.  pVhether  he 
suffers  or  does  not  suffer,  the  throne  of  peace  is 
erected  in  the  centre  of  his  soul.\  Wretchedness 
and  joy  are  alike.  He  welcomes  sorrow,  even  the 
deepest  sorrow  of  the  heart,  Avith  as  warm  a  gush 
of  gratitude  as  he  welcomes  happiness,  if  the  will 
OF  God  is  accomplished.  ( In  that  will  his  soul  is 
lost,  as  in  a   bottomless  ocean.  ^ 

Accordingly,  it  will  not  be  surprising,  when  we 
say   further,  that  he  makes   but  little  account  of 


ANNIHILATION  OR  NOTHINGNESS.  415 

aptures,  visions,  extacies,  special  illuminations, 
judden  and  remarkable  impressions,  or  any  thing 
)f  the  kind,  except  so  far  as  they  tend,  which,  alas, 
s  frequently  not  the  case,  to  extinguish  self,  and 
,0  lead  the  soul  into  the  abyss  of  the  supreme 
Divinity. 

Finally. — The  soul,  that  has  reached  the  centre 
)f  its  Nothing,  (that  is,  is  absolutely  and  forever 
lothing  relatively  to  self,)  remains  without  resis- 
ance  in  the  hands  of  God,  like  clay  in  the  hands 
)f  the  potter.  It  has  become  perfectly  pliable  and 
mpressible  to  the  divine  touch.  Such  a  soul  is  pe- 
culiarly the  subject  of  that  ennobling  form  of 
prayer,  which  is  called  in  certain  writers  the  Re- 
ceptive or  Passive  Prayer.  Entirely  divested  of 
those  habits  of  self -activity,  which  are  so  common 
and  so  injurious,  it  remains  quiet  and  childlike  in 
;he  divine  presence.  Like  the  placid  lake,  that  re- 
ceives and  reflects  to  the  eye  of  the  beholder  the 
mage  of  trees  and  flowers  on  its  banks,  returning 
image  for  image,  without  a  stem  disarranged,  or  a 
petal  broken;  so  in  all  the  hidden  aspirations 
which  it  constantly  sends  forth,  it  passively  and 
almost  unconsciously  receives  and  reflects  the  image 
of  God ;  an  image,  which  is  not  distorted  by  the 
mixture  of  self-originated  acts,  nor  marred  by  the 
disturbing  power  of  internal  agitation.  /  God  loves 
to  leave  the  impress  of  his  blessed  image  on  the 
self-annihilated  souly  And  the  prayer  which  it 
breathes,  as  it  is  nof'^  self-moved,  but  moves  as  it 
is  moved  upon,  may  truly  be  regarded  as  the  pray- 
ing breath  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  always  dwells 
in  the  soul  that  knows  itself  no  more. 


416  ON  THE  TRUE  IDEA  OF  INTERIOR 

We  may  see,  therefore,  how  strong  must  be  the 
position  of  the  Divine  Mind, (the  deus  agens  inter, 
as  it  has  been  expressed  in  the  Latin,)  in  the  self- 
annihilated  soul.  A  soul,  in  the  language  of 
Michael  de  Molinos,  "desiring  as  if  it  did  not  de- 
sire ;  willing  as  if  it  did  not  will  ;  understanding 
as  if  it  did  not  understand;  thinking  as  if  it 
did  not  think,  without  inchning  to  any  thing; 
[that  is,  independently  of  the  will  of  God ;]  embra- 
cing equally  contempts  and  honors,  benefits  and 
corrections.  Oh,  what  a  hap])y  soul  is  this,  which 
is  thus  dead  and  annihilated.  It  lives  no  longer 
in  itself,  because  God  lives  in  it.  And  now  it  may 
most  truly  be  said  of  it,  that  it  is  a  renewed  Phoe- 
nix, because  it  is  changed,  spiritualized,  and  trans- 
formed into  the  divine  image." 

And  again,  he  says,  "We  seek  ourselves  every 
time  we  get  out  of  our  Nothing  ;  and,  therefore,  we 
never  get  to  quiet  and  perfect  contemplation. 
/Creep  in,  as  far  as  ever  thou  canst,  into  the  truth 
^of  thy  Nothing ;  and  then  nothing  will  disquiet 
thee ;  nay,  thou  wilt  be  humble  and  ashamed, 
losing  openly  thy  own  reputation  and  esteem.^ 

"Oh,  what  a  strong  bulwark  wilt  thou  find  of 
that  Nothing !  Who  can  ever  afllict  thee,  if  thou 
dost  once  retire  into  that  fortress !  Because  the 
soul,  which  is  despised  by  itself,  and  in  its  own 
knowledge  is  nothing,  is  not  capable  of  receiving 
grievance  or  injury  from  any  body.  The  soul, 
which  keeps  within  its  Nothingness,  is  internally 
silent,  lives  resigned  in  any  torment  whatsoever, 
by  thinking  it  less  than   it  doth  deserve ;  is   free 


ANNIHILATION  OR  NOTHINGNESS.  417 

from  abundance  of  imperfections,  and  becomes 
commander  of  great  virtues.  While  the  soul  keeps 
still  and  quiet  in  its  Nothingness,   the  lord  draws 

HIS  own  image  AND  LIKENESS  IN  IT,  WITHOUT  ANY 
THING  TO  HINDER  IT."* 


*  See  the  work,  entitled,  "Abstract  of  the  Spiritual  Guide   of 
Blichael  de  Molinos."     Chaps,  xix,  xx. 


"Oh,  sacred  union  with  the  Perfect  Mind  ! 
Transcendent  bliss,  which  Thou  alone  canst  give  ! 
How  blest  are  they,  this  pearl  of  price  who  find, 
And  dead  to  earth,  have  learnt  in  Thee  to  live. 

Thus,  in  thine  arms  of  love.  Oh  God,  I  lie, 
Lost,  and  forever  lost,  to  all  but  Thee. 
My  happy  soul,  since  it  hath  learnt  to  die, 
Hath  found  new  life  in  thine  Infinity. 

Oh,  go,  and  learn  this  lesson  of  the  Cross  ; 
And  tread  the  way,  which  saints  and  prophets  trod. 
Who,  counting  life,  and  self,  and  all  things  loss, 
Have  found,  in  inward  death,  the  life  of  God.  i 


CHAPTER  FORTIETH. 


On  the  state  of  nnion  Avith  God. 

Among  the  higher  forms  of  Christian  experience, 
as  we  find  them  described  by  writers  on  experi- 
mental rehgion,  there  is  a  state  of  mind,  which 
we  find  denominated  the  state  of  union.  It  is  also 
frequently  called,  by  a  phrase  which  intimates  the 
same  thing,  the  unitive  state  of  mind. — This  state 
of  mind  is  not  iinfrequently  implied  and  even  de- 
scribed by  devout  writers,  without  a  formal  men- 
tion of  it  by  name.  Archbishop  Leighton,  for  in- 
stance, speaks  of  the  Christian,  who  perceives  him- 
self "knit  to  God,  and  his  soul  more  fast  and  join- 
ed nearer  to  him  than  to  his  own  body."  The 
following  prayer  is  ascribed  to  John  Climacus, 
many  centuries  since  a  devout  and  learned  recluse 
of  Mount  Sinai.  "My  God,  I  pretend  to  nothing 
upon  this  earth,  except  to  be  so  firmly  united  to 
Thee  by  prayer,  that  to  be  separated  from  Thee 
may  be  impossible.  Let  others  desire  riches  and 
glory ;  for  my  part  I  desire  but  one  thing,  and 
that  is  to  be  inseparably  united  to  Thee,  and  to 
place  in  Thee  alone  all  my  hopes  of  happiness  and 
repose.'*    These  expressions  indicate  a  full  belief, 


ON  THE  STATE  OF  UNION  WITH  GOD.  419 

on  the  part  of  this  devout  person,  of  the  existence 
of  the  state  of  present  mental  union  with  God,  as 
well  as  earnest  desire  for  it.  There  are  repeated 
allusions  to  this  state  of  mind  in  the  works  of 
Kempis  and  Tauler ;  writers,  who,  although  Cath- 
olics, are  favorably  mentioned  by  Luther;  and 
have  always  been  much  esteemed  by  Protestant 
christians.  Sir  Henry  Vane,  one  of  the  English 
Puritans,  a  man  religiously  as  well  as  politically 
memorable,  wrote  a  religious  treatise,  which  in 
part  had  express  relation  to  this  subject,  entitled, 
On  the  love  of  God,  and  union  with  God.  Many 
pious  persons  in  more  modern  times,  and  in  differ- 
ent denominations  of  Christians,  have  spoken  very 
emphatically  of  their  union  with  the  Divine  Mind ; 
and  in  such  way  as  to  leave  the  impression,  that 
they  considered  the  state  of  union  as  a  distinct  and 
peculiar,  as  well  as  a  very  desirable  and  eminent 
modification  of  Christian  experience.  "Time 
would  fail  me,"  says  Lady  Maxwell,  "  to  tell  of  the 
numberless  manifestations  of  divine  love  and 
power.  I  have,  though  deeply  unworthy,  been  fa- 
vored with  such  wonderful  lettings  into  Deity,  as 
no  language  can  describe  or  explain ;  but  the  whole 
soul  dilates  itself  in  the  exquisite  enjoyment;  so 
refined,  so  pure,  so  tempered  with  sacred  awe,  so 
guarded  by  heavenly  solemnity,  as  effectually  to 
prevent  all  irregularity  of  desires.  These,  Avith 
every  power  of  the  mind,  bow  in  holy  subjection 
before  Jehovah.  Surely  the  feelings  of  the  soul, 
on  these  memorable  occasions,  are  nearly  similar 
to  those  enjoyed  by  the  heavenly  inhabitants.     I 


420  ON  THE  STATE  OF  UNION  WITH  GOD. 

have  it  still  to  remark,  that  all  my  intercourse  with 
God  the  Father  is  strongly  marked  with  that  su- 
perior solemnity  and  awe  which  lay  and  keep  the 
soul  in  the  dust,  yet  raised  to  that  holy  dignity, 
which  flows  from  a  consciousness  of  union  with  the 
Deity:' 

First.— Proceeding  now  to  make  a  {evr  general 
remarks  in  explanation  of  the  subject,  we  observe, 
in  the  first  place,  that  the  name,  unitize  state  or 
state  of  divine  union,  is  derived  from  the  peculiar 
state  of  mind,  which  exists.  The  precise  state  of 
the  soul,  stated  in  general  terms,  seems  to  be  one 
of  close  and  ineffable  conformity  with  the  Divine 
Mind.  It  is  called  the  state  of  union,  therefore, 
simply  because  it  is  such.  We  cannot  help  regard- 
ing this  state  of  mind,  if  it  be  rightly  understood, 
as  a  scriptural  one.  Is  it  too  much  to  say,  that 
thei*e  is  a  recognition  of  it,  in  those  remarka- 
ble and  to  some  persons  inexplicable  passages, 
which  are  found  in  the  latter  part  of  John's  Gospel? 
Passages  which,  however  mysterious  they  may  ap- 
pear to  many  at  the  present  time,  have  nevertheless  a 
real  meaning  ;  and  as  the  church  advances  in  holi- 
ness, will  undoubtedly  be  made  clear  and  full  of  im- 
port, in  connection  with  the  personal  experience  of 
multitudes.  "Neither  pray  I  for  these  alone  ;  but  for 
them  also,  which  shall  believe  on  me  through  their 
word.  That  they  may  all  be  one  ;  as  thou,  Fa- 
ther, art  in  me  and  I  in  thee,  that  they  also  may 
be  ONE  IN  us,  that  the  world  may  believe,  that  thou 
hast  sent  me.  And  the  glory  which  thou  gavest 
me,  I  have  given  them,  that  they  may  be  one,  even 


ON  THE  STATE  OF  UiNlON   WITH  GOD.  421 

AS  WE  ARE  ONE.  I  ill  them  and  thou  in  me,  that 
they  may  be  made  perfect  in  OxNe  ;  and  that  the 
world  may  know,  that  thou  hast  sent  me ;  and 
hast  loved  them,  as  thou  hast  loved  me."  John, 
17  :  20—23. 

Second. — The  following  principle  appears  to  lay 
at  the  foundation  of  the  doctrine  of  divine  union, 
as  we  find  it  represented  in  various  writers,  viz. 
That  all  moral  and  accountable  beings,  just  in 
proportion  as  they  are  freed  from  the  dominion  of 
sin,  have  a  natural  and  inherent  tendency  to 
unite  with  God.  Of  the  correctness  of  this  princi- 
ple, when  properly  understood,  there  does  not  ap- 
pear to  be  any  reasonable  doubt.  It  is  nothing  more 
nor  less  than  this,  that  holy  beings  recognize  in  each 
other  a  mutual  relationship  of  character,  and  are 
led,  by  the  very  necessities  of  their  nature,  to  seek 
each  other  in  the  reciprocal  exercise  of  love.  In 
other  words,  nothing  appears  to  them  so  exceedingly 
good,  desirable,  and  lovely  as  holiness,  whenever  and 
wherever  found.  Accordingly,  just  as  soon  as  we 
feel,  that  our  sins  are  pardoned,  and  have  an  in- 
ward consciousness,  that  faith  in  Christ,  who  is 
"the  way,  the  truth,  and  the  life,"  is  working  by 
love  and  purifying  the  heart,  we  begin  to  feel 
also  a  secret  union  with  the  Savior,  not  only  as 
our  atoning  sacrifice,  but  as  a  holy  being,  and  as  a 
true  representative  of  the  Divinity  in  the  flesh. 
And  just  in  proportion  as  we  grow  in  grace  and 
become  free  from  sin,  we  shall  find  this  state  of 
union  with  the  Savior  increasing.  And  union  with 
Christ,  (a  real  union  such  as  that  of  the  branch,  when 
36 


422      ON  THE  STATE  OF  UNION  WITH  GOD. 

it  is  united  to  the  vine,)  is  followed,  in  the  natural 
progress  of  the  religious  Ufe,  by  union,  through 
Christ  and  in  Christ,  with  God  the  Father;  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  remarkable  prayer  of  the  Savior, 
which  has  already  been  referred  to,  "that  they 
all  may  be  one  ;  as  Thou,  Father,  art  in  me,  and 
I  in  thee,  that  they  also  may  be  one  in  us."  And 
it  is  in  accordance  with  this  view,  that  Lady  Max- 
well, whose  religious  experience,  especially  in  the 
latter  part  of  her  life,  is  exceedingly  interesting 
and  instructive,  remarks  in  expressions,  which 
convey  an  important  truth,  though  perhaps  liable 
to  be  misunderstood,  ^^ Jehovah  teaches  and  enables  me 
to  pass  through  Jesus ^  as  the  icay  to  himself.^'  In  a  sin- 
gle word,  union,  (whether  we  look  at  the  subject 
in  the  light  of  nature  or  in  the  light  of  God's  word,) 
uniouy  pure,  strong,  inseparable,  and  without  re- 
gard to  natural  or  physical  differences,  is  the  one 
great  and  necessary  law  of  holy  beings.  Hence 
the  doctrine  of  Cudworth,  which  has  already  been 
spoken  of,  that  a  holy  soul  can  no  more  be  separa- 
ted from  God,  and  retain  its  inward  and  holy  life, 
than  a  sunbeam  can  be  separated  from  the  sun, 
and  retain  its  heat  and  brightness.  Just  in  propor- 
tion as  our  sin  is  taken  away,  the  element  of  sepa- 
ration is  taken  away  ;  and  the  soul,  delivered  from 
the  clogs  which  fastened  it  to  that  which  is  not 
God,  returns  instinctively  and  unerringly  to  the 
Infinite  Centre. 

Third. — We  remark  again,  in  the  third  place, 
that  union  with  God,  considered  as  a  form  of 
christian  experience,  is  not  a  physical  union,  an 


^K 


ON  THE  STATE  OF  UNION  WITH  GOO.  423 

union  of  essence  with  essence  physically,  but  a 
moral  and  religious  union.  It  would  hardly  be  ne- 
cessary to  make  this  remark,  were  it  not,  that 
some  pious  writers  on  this  subject  make  use  of 
strong  expressions,  which  may  be  easily  misunder- 
stood and  misapplied,  but  which  obviously  were 
not  designed  to  be,  and  ought  not  to  be  taken  in 
their  physical  or  literal  import.  The  passages  of 
Scripture,  which  recognize  and  which  require  the 
union  of  the  regenerated  mind  of  man  with  the 
mind  of  of  his  Maker,  or  with  the  mind  of  Christ, 
are  in  some  instances  exceedingly  strong,  and  seem 
to  require  a  modified  interpretation.  Ail  that  is 
necessary  is,  that  we  should  exhibit  in  other  cases 
the  discrimination  and  candor,  which  generally 
characterize  our  interpretations  of  the  Scriptures. 
But,  although  we  are  not  to  understand  from  the 
language  of  the  writers  on  this  subject,  that  there  is 
a  physical  union,  or  a  union  which  would  imply  in 
any  sense  the  loss  of  our  own  personality  and  ac- 
countability, they  undoubtedly  mean  to  teach  the  ex- 
istence and  the  reality  of  a  moral  and  religious  uni- 
on, as  close  and  intimate  as  such  an  union  possibly 
can  be ;  an  union  entirely  analogous,  in  all  proba- 
bility, to  that  pure  and  blessed  union,  which  existed 
between  Christ  Jesus,  considered  in  his  human  na- 
ture, and  his  heavenly  Father. 

Fourth. — The  existence  of  the  unitive  state  does 
not  necessarily  imply  inward  manifestations  and 
raptures  of  an  extraordinary  kind.  On  the  contra- 
ry, such  manifestations,  and  joys  and  raptures  of 
a  remarkable  character,  which  would  be  likely  to 


t^ 


424  ON  THE  STATE  OF  UNION  AVITH  GOD. 

attract  attention  to  themselves  as  distinct  ob- 
jects of  notice,  and  thus  nourish  the  Hfe  of  Self, 
would  be  unfavorable,  rather  than  otherwise,  to 
the  existence  of  the  state  of  mind  under  considera- 
tion. This  state  of  mind  implies,  however,  the  ex- 
istence, in  the  highest  degree,  of  those  two  great 
elements  of  the  religious  life,  to  which  the  reader's 
attention  has  been  repeatedly  called,  viz.  Conse- 
cration, which  separates  us  from  every  known  sin 
and  lays  all  upon  the  altar  of  God  as  a  perpetual 
sacrifice ;  and  Faith,  which  leaves  all  in  God's 
hands,  and  which  receives  and  accepts  no  wisdom, 
no  goodness,  no  strength,  but  what  comes  from 
God  as  the  true  source  of  inward  and  everlasting 
life.  Consecration  renounces  the  all  of  the  crea- 
ture ;  faith  recognizes  and  accepts  the  all  of  God. 
Consecration  implies  the  rejection  and  hatred  of  all 
evil ;  faith  implies  the  reception  and  love  of  all 
good.  The  one  alienates,  abhors,  and  tramples 
under  foot  all  unsanctified  natural  desires,  aims, 
and  purposes;  the  other  approves,  receives,  and 
makes  a  part  of  its  own  self,  all  the  desires,  aims, 
and  purposes  of  God  ;  and  both  are  implied  and  in- 
volved, and  are  carried  to  their  highest  possible  ex- 
ercise, in  the  state  of  divine  union. 

Fifth. — The  mind,  in  the  state  of  union  Avith 
God,  is  disposed  to  indulge  in  subdued  and  affec- 
tionate acts  of  contemplation,  rather  than  in  exam- 
inative  and  discursive  or  reasoning  acts.  It  is  un- 
doubtedly the  case,  that  the  mind  may  remain 
fixed  upon  God  and  may  be  in  a  certain  sense 
united  to  him,  in  what  may  variously  be  called  a 


ON  THE  STATE  OF  UNION  WITH  GOD.  42o 

perceptive,  reflective,  or  discursive  manner ;  that 
is  to  say,  engaged  in  a  perceptive  or  speculative 
view  of  him,  occupied  in  the  critical  examination 
of  his  various  attributes,  his  justice,  wisdom,  and 
goodness,  or  something  of  the  kind.  But  some- 
thing more  than  this  kind  of  imion  is  implied  in 
the  state  of  mind,  which  we  are  now  speaking  of. 
The  examinative  or  discursive  state  of  the  mind 
implies  the  presence  of  God  to  the  intellect  merely ; 
the  contemplative  state,  although  not  altogether 
excluding  an  intellectual  view,  implies  his  presence 
to  the  heart.  And  it  is  on  this  ground  that  we 
make  the  remark,  that  the  mind,  in  the  state  of 
divine  union,  is  rather  contemplative,  than  per- 
ceptive and  examinative. 

I  have  sometimes  supposed,  that  something  like 
the  unitive  state  of  mind,  which  it  is  so  difficult  to 
■describe,  might  perhaps  exist  in  the  case  of  a  blind 
€hild,  who  has  an  attentive  and  affectionate  father. 
The  child,  being  blind  from  birth,  has  visually  and 
perceptively  no  distinct  knowledge  of  his  father. 
But  he  knows  there  is  an  object  "present  to  him 
though  unseen  ;  and  that  this  outward  and  unseen 
being  is  ever  beneficent  and  ever  active  in  secur- 
ing his  happiness.  He  has  but  an  indefinite  and 
obscure  notion  of  his  form ;  and  is  not  capable  of 
any  accurate  analj^sis  of  his  character;  but  his 
mind  rests  in  the  general  complex  idea  of  an  ever 
present  being  ;  who,  although  he  is  unseen,  and  in 
many  of  his  attributes  is  essentially  unknown,  is 
nevertheless  the  precise  object,  which  of  all  others 
is  the  most  fitted  to  secure,  and  is  the  most  worthy 
36* 


42G  ON  THE  STATE  OF  UNION  WITH  GOD. 

of  his  love.  It  is  thus,  contemplatively  rather 
than  discursively,  that  his  father  is  ever  present  to 
his  thoughts,  and  is  ever  the  object  of  his  almost 
adoring  affections. 

Sixth. — The  state  of  divine  union  may  exist 
under  two  modifications  ;  the  one  characterized  by 
our  being  distinctly  conscious  of  its  existence,  the 
other  without  such  consciousness.  The  union  of 
the  human  with  the  divine  mind,  when  it  is  once 
originated,  is  not  easily  broken.  The  fact,  for  in- 
stance of  our  being  taken  up  at  times  with  indis- 
pensable worldly  cares,  does  not  necessarily  de- 
stroy the  state  of  union,  although  we  may  not  be 
distinctly  percipient  or  conscious  of  it  at  such 
times.  But  what  we  wish  to  remark  here  is,  that 
the  state  in  question,  whenever  it  is  the  subject  of 
distinct  inward  notice  or  consciousness,  seems  to 
be  characterized,  among  other  marks,  by  a  tenden- 
cy, not  only  to  inward  contemplation,  but  to  out- 
ward silence.  At  such  times  the  soul  appears  to 
know  but  one  object,  and  that  is  God  ;  and  to  have 
but  one  feeling,  and  that  is  love.  It  is  drawn  in- 
wardly; and  outward  objects  seem  to  have  but 
little  influence.  Hence  words  are  few.  It  has 
but  little  disposition  to  express  even  what  itself 
feels.  In  fact,  the  conversation,  which  is  carried 
on  at  such  times  between  the  soul  and  God  is  too 
high  for  human  language ;  and  what  is  more,  it  is 
carried  on  with  a  Being,  who  can  understand  the 
soul's  meaning  without  the  medium  of  human 
speech.  The  conversation  is  with  God,  and  not 
with  men  ;  and  is  in  God's  manner  and  not  after 
the  manner  of  men ;   and,    therefore,  it   would  be 


ON  THE  STATE  OF  UNION  WITH  GOD.  427 

difRciilt  to  repeat  it,  even  if  there  were  a  disposi- 
tion to  do  it.  The  soul,  in  its  attitude  of  serene  and 
fixed  contemplation,  continually  but  silently  re- 
peats to  itself  sentiments  of  trust  and  adoration, 
of  gratitude  and  love.  God  recognizes  the  import 
of  this  hidden  language  and  returns  it,  by  conde- 
scendingly unveiling  himself  in  his  amiableness 
and  benevolence.  There  is  a  constant  flowing 
and  re-flowing  of  afiection ;  love  ascending  to 
God  and  love  returning ;  so  that  there  is  not  only 
a  consciousness  of  love  to  God  on  the  part  of  the 
person ;  but  what  is  yet  more  striking,  there  is  a 
consciousness,  or  rather  a  deeply  wrought  convic- 
tion, that  God  loves  him  in  return.  He  can  say 
in  the  beautiful  expressions  of  the  Canticles, 
"Thou  dost  place  thy  left  hand  under  my  head 
and  with  thy  right  hand  Thou  dost  embrace  me  ; 
and  thy  banner  over  me  is  love." 

Seventh. — It  is  very  obvious,  that  this  state  of 
mind  cannot  be  fully  understood,  except  in  con- 
nection with  inward  experience.  In  the  language 
of  the  author  of  the  Life  of  Sir  Henry  Vane,  "Di- 
vine life  must  have  divine  words ;  words  which 
the  Holy  Ghost  teacheth,  to  give  its  own  charac- 
ter."* Therefore  we  will  not  attempt  to  pursue 
the  topic  any  further  than  to  say,  that  the  state  of 
union  with  God,  when  it  is  the  subject  of  distinct 
consciousness,  constitutes,  without  being  necessa- 
rily characterized  by  revelations  or  raptures,  the 
soul's  spiritual  festival,  a  season  of  special  interior 
blessedness,  a  foretaste  of  heaven.  The  mind,  un- 
aflected  by  Avorldly  vicissitudes  and  the  strifes  and 

*Life  of  Sir  Henry  Vane,  anonymous,  printed  in  1662. 


42S       ON  THE  STATE  OF  UNION  WITH  GOD. 

oppositions  of  men,  reposes  deeply  in  a  state  of 
happy  submission  and  quietude,  in  accordance 
with  the  expressions  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews, 
that  those  who  believe,  "enter  into  rest."  So 
true  it  is  in  the  language  of  Kempis,  that  "he,  who 
comprehendeth  all  things  in  His  will,  and  behold- 
eth  all  things  in  His  light,  hath  his  heart  fixed,  and 
abideth  in  the  peace  of  God."  How  can  there  be 
otherwise  than  the  peace  of  God,  pure,  beautiful, 
sublime,  when  consecration  is  without  reserve  and 
faith  is  without  limit ;  and  especially,  when  self- 
will,  the  great  evil  of  our  fallen  nature,  is  eradicat- 
ed and  subdued.  What  higher  idea  can  we  have 
of  the  most  advanced  christian  experience,  than  that 
of  entire  union  with  the  divine  will,  by  a  subjec- 
tion of  the  human  Avill  ?  When  the  will  of  man, 
ceasing  from  its  divergencies  and  its  disorderly  vi- 
brations, becomes  fixed  to  one  point,  henceforward 
immovable,  always  harmonizing,  moment  by  mo- 
ment, with  God's  central  and  absorbing  purposes, 
then  we  may  certainly  say,  that  the  soul,  in  the 
language  which  is  sometimes  applied  to  it,  and  in 
a  modified  sense  of  the  terms,  has  become  not  only 
perfected  in  faith  and  love,  but  "united  and  one 
with  God,"  and  "transformed  into  the  divine  na- 
ture."— "//e,  that  is  joined  to  the  Lord,  is  one  spirit.''^ 
And  from  that  moment,  in  its  higher  nature,  and 
so  far  as  it  is  not  linked  to  earth  by  sympathies, 
which  its  God  has  implanted,  and  which  were 
smitten  and  bled  even  in  the  case  of  the  Savior, 
the  soul  knows  sorrow  no  more ;  the  pain  of  its  in- 
ward  anguish  is   changed  into   rejoicing ;  it   has 


ox  VARIETIES  OF  CHRISTIAN  CHARACTER.  429 

passed  into  the  mount  of  stillness,  the  Tabor  of 
inward  transfiguration,  the  Temple  of  unchanging 
tranquillity. 


CHAPTER  FORTY-FIRST. 


On  varieties  of  Christian  Character. 


Much  more  might,  undoubtedly,  be  said  on  the 
interesting  and  important  subjects,  to  which  our 
attention  has  been  directed.  But  we  leave  them, 
for  the  present,  to  the  serious  reflections  and  the 
examination  of  others,  with  a  few  additional  re- 
marks in  illustration  of  some  varieties  of  christian 
character. 

First. — There  are  three  classes  of  Christians, 
who  seem  to  be  easily  distinguishable  from  each 
other.  The  first  class  are  those,  who,  destitute,  in 
a  considerable  degree,  of  any  marked  spiritual 
manifestations  and  joys,  may  yet  be  said  to  possess 
FAITH.  And  in  the  possession  of  faith  they  undoubt- 
edly have  the  eftective  element  of  the  inward  life. 
Their  faith,  however,  is  weak.  Their  language  is, 
"Lord,  I  believe,  help  Thou  mine  unbelief.^'  They 
have  but  little  strength.  In  general,  they  move 
feebly  and  slowly  ;  and  in  some  instances  scarcely 


430  ON  VARIETIES  OF  CHRISTIAN  CHARACTER. 

show  signs  of  life.  Some,  however,  exhibit  a  httle 
more  strength  and  activity  than  others;  and  God 
honors  them  ;,by  employing  them  in  the  smaller 
charges'  and  duties  of  his  Church.  These  cases 
are  not  without  their  encouragement.  Such  per- 
sons are  often  characterized  by  the  trait  of  humble 
perseverance.  They  grow  in  grace,  though  not 
rapidly ;  and  not  iinfrequently  become  strong  in 
the  end.  As  a  general  statement,  they  have  not 
much  to  say  in  any  period  of  their  experience ; 
but  they  are  not  wanting  in  sincerity,  and  they 
cling  to  the  cross  of  Christ,  as  the  foundation  of 
tlieir  hope.  It  is  seldom  that  they  make  a  strong 
impression  upon  the  world ;  but  their  example  is 
generally  salutary.  These  are  not  those,  who 
have  been  caught  up  to  the  "third  heavens,"  and 
have  seen  wonderful  things. 

Second. — The  second  class  are  those,  who  have 
had  striking  nianifestations,  in  the  way  of  strong 
convictions  and  of  subsequent  great  illuminations. 
From  time  to  time,  a  remarkable  impulse,  a  divine 
afflatus,  if  we  may  so  express  it,  seems  to  come  upon 
them,  and  they  are  borne  on  in  a  gale.  Then 
comes  a  calm;  and  they  temporarily  make  but  lit- 
tle progress.  Sometimes  they  have  great  darkness; 
but  it  is  alternated  Avith  gleams  of  light.  Nor  is  the 
light,  which  they  have,  always  the  pure  and  calm 
light,  which  is  of  a  heavenly  origin ;  but  sometimes 
the  red,  meteor-like  glare  of  an  earthly  fire.  They 
may  be  said  to  have  a  considerable  degree  of  faith; 
but  they  evidently  have  less  faith  than  feeling. 
Their  mental  history,  however,  under  its  various 


ON  VARIETIES  OF  CHRISTIAN  CHARACTER.  431 

changes,  partakes,  in  no  small  degree,  of  the  strik- 
ing, the  marvellous.  These  persons  are  general- 
ly the  marked  ones,  the  particular  and  bright  stars 
in  the  Church.  They  often  have  great  gifts  ;  they 
labor  for  God ;  they  attract  attention.  They  over- 
whelm by  their  eloquence ;  startle  by  their  new 
and  sometimes  heretical  views;  are  denunciatory, 
argumentative,  prophetic,  just  as  the  occasion  may 
call.  But  their  movements  are  not  always  clear 
of  Self;  and  pride  sometimes  lurks  at  the  bottom. 
They  are  "many  men  in  one;"  without  true  fixed- 
ness and  simplicity  of  character ;  but  exhibiting 
themselves  in  different  aspects,  according  as  the 
natural  or  the  spiritual  life  predominates.  Some- 
times they  are  sunk  deep  in  their  own  nothingness 
through  the  influence  of  the  Spirit  of  God ;  and 
sometimes  they  are  up  in  the  "airy  mind"  of  na- 
ture's "inflatibility".  They  are  undoubtedly  very 
useful ;  aiding  themselves  in  the  things  of  religion 
and  aiding  others ;  but  it  can  hardly  be  said  of  them, 
that  their  life  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God.  They  think 
too  much  of  their  own  efforts  and  powers ;  they  place 
too  high  an  estimate  on  human  histrumcntality ; 
they  do  not  fully  understand  the  secret  of  their  own 
nothingness;  nor  do  they  know,  in  their  own  experi- 
ence and  to  its  full  extent,  the  meaning  of  self-cru- 
cifixion. Hence  their  confusion,  when  in  their 
own  view,  things  do  not  go  right ;  hence  their  ev- 
ident dejection,  when  the  voice  of  the  multitude  is 
suddenly  a  little  adverse  to  them ;  hence  their 
plans,  their  contrivances,  too  much  like  the  plans 
and  calculations  of  human  policy.     They  are  not 


432  ox  VARIETIES  OF  CHRISTIAN  CHARACTER. 

destitute  of  christian  graces;  but  they  need  more 
lowliness  of  heart,  and  more  faith.  Nevertheless 
they  have  had  much  experience  of  the  divine  good- 
ness ;  God  owns  and  blesses  them ;  and  their  me- 
morial is  often  written  in  multitudes  of  grateful 
hearts. 

Third. — A  third  class  are  those,  whose  life  may 
be  said  to  be  emphatically  a  life  of  faith,  attended 
with  an  entire  renunciation  and  crucifixion  of  Self. 
Faith  is  not  perfect,  until  Self  is  crucified  ;  and  the 
converse  is  equally  true,  that  perfect  faith  necessa- 
rily results  in  entire  self-renunciation. 

In  the  second  class  of  persons,  which  has  been 
mentioned,  the  spiritual  life  mingles  more  or  less, 
and  perhaps  in  nearly  equal  proportions,  with  the 
tendencies  'and  activities  of  nature.  The  fire, 
which  blazes  up  from  their  hearts,  and  which  often 
casts  a  broad  light  upon  the  surrounding  multi- 
tude, is  a  mixed  iire,  partly  from  heaven  and 
partly  from  earth.  The  natural  unholy  principles 
are  not  extinct ;  but  can  only  be  said  to  be  partly 
purified,  and  to  be  turned  into  a  new  channel. 
Hence  they  will  oftentimes  fight  for  God  with  the 
same  zeal,  and  almost  in  the  same  manner,  that 
worldly  men  fight  for  their  temporary  and  world- 
ly objects  ;  with  great  earnestness,  with  an  unqui- 
et and  turbulent  indignation,  and  sometimes  with 
a  cruelty  of  attack,  which  vents  itself  in  misrepre- 
sentations, and  which  persecutes  even  to  prison  and 
to  death. 

But  the  class  of  Christians,  to  whom  we  are  now 
attending,  having  their  souls  fully  fixed  in  God  by 


ON  VARIETIES  OF  CHRISTIAN  CHARACTER.  433 

FAITH,  cannot  consent  to  serve  their  heavenly  Fa- 
ther with  the  instruments  which  Satan  furnishes. 
They  sow  the  seed ;  hut  they  have  faith  in  the 
God  of  the  harvest ;  and  they  know  that  all  will  be 
well  in  the  end.  They  are  not  inactive;  but  they 
move  only  at  God's  command,  and  in  God's  way  ; 
and  are  fully  satisfied  with  the  result,  which  God 
may  sec  fit  to  give.  At  the  command  of  the  world 
or  of  a  worldly  spirit,  they  would  not  ''turn  upon 
their  heel  to  save  their  life."  But  to  God  they 
hold  all  in  subjection ;  and  they  rest  calmly  in  the 
great  Central  Power.  These  are  men  of  a  grave 
countenance ;  of  a  retired  life  except  when  duty  calls 
to  public  action ;  of  few  words,  simple  manners,  and 
inflexible  principle.  They  have  renounced  Self: 
and  they  naturally  seek  a  low  place,  remote  from 
public  observation  and  unreached  by  human  ap- 
plause. When  they  are  silent  to  human  hearing, 
they  are  conversing  with  God ;  and  when  they 
open  their  lips  and  speak,  it  is  the  message  which 
God  gives,  and  is  spoken  with  the  demonstration 
of  the  Spirit.  When  they  are  apparently  inactive, 
they  are  gaining  strength  from  the  Divine  Foun- 
tain; drinking  nourishment  into  the  inmost  soul. 
And  when  they  move,  although  with  quiet  step, 
the  heart  of  the  multitude  is  shaken  and  troubled 
at  their  approach,  because  God  moves  with  them. 
There  is  no  thunder,  but  the  "still  small  voice  : "' 
no  smoke,  but  consuming  fire. 

These  are  the  men,  of  whom  martyrs  are  made. 
When  the  day  of  great  tribulation  comes,   when 
dungeons  are  ready,  and  fires  are  burning,  then 
S7 


434  ON  VARIETIES  OF  CHRISTIAN  CHARACTER. 

God  permits  his  children,  who  are  weak  in  the 
faith,  to  stand  aside.  Then  the  illuminated  Chris- 
tians, those  who  live  in  the  region  of  high  emotion, 
rather  than  of  quiet  faith,  who  have  been  conspic- 
uous in  the  world  of  christian  activity,  and  have 
been  as  a  pleasant  and  a  loud  song,  and  in  many- 
things  have  done  nobly,  will  unfold  to  the  right  and 
the  left,  and  let  this  little  company,  of  whom  the 
world  is  ignorant,  and  whom  it  cannot  know,  come 
up  from  their  secret  places  to  the  great  battle  of 
the  Lord.  To  them  the  prison  is  as  acceptable 
as  the  throne  ;  the  place  of  degradation  as  the  place 
of  honor.  They  eat  of  the  "  hidden  manna ;"  and 
they  have  the  secret  name  given  them,  "which  no 
man  knoweth."  Ask  them  how  they  feel,  and  they 
will  perhaps  be  startled,  because  their  thoughts  are 
thus  turned  from  God  to  themselves.  And  they 
will  answer  by  asking,  What  God  wills  ?  They 
have  no  feeling,  separate  from  the  will  of  God.  All 
high  and  low,  all  joy  and  sorrow,  all  honor  and 
dishonor,  all  friendship  and  enmity,  are  brought  to 
a  level ;  and  are  merged  and  lost  in  the  great  real- 
ization of  God  present  in  the  heart.  Hence  chains 
and  dungeons  have  no  terrors ;  a  bed  of  fire  is  as  a 
bed  of  down. 

It  is  here,  in  this  class  of  persons,  that  we  find 
the  great  grace  of  sanctification  ;  a  word,  alas,  too 
little  understood  in  the  Church.  These  are  they, 
who,  in  the  spirit  of  self-crucifixion,  live  by  faith, 
and  faith  only. 


RELIGIOUS  MAXIMS.* 


Having  a  connection  with  the  doctrines  and  practice 
of  Holiness. 

Think  much  and  pray  much  ;  but  let  your  words  be 
few,  and  uttered  with  seriousness  and  deliberation,  as  in 
God's  presence.  And  yet  regard  may  be  had  to  times 
and  seasons.  We  may  innocently  act  the  child  with 
children,  which  in  the  presence  of  grown  persons  would 
have  the  appearance  of  thoughtlessness  and  levity.  And 
may  perhaps  at  times  express  our  gratitude  to  God  and 
our  holy  joys,  with  an  increased  degree  of  freedom  and 
vivacity,  especially  in  the  company  of  those  who  bear  the 
same  image,  and  who  know  what  it  is  to  rejoice  in  the 
Holy  Ghost. 

11. 

Be  silent  when  blamed  and  reproached  unjustly,  and 
under  such  circumstances  that  the  reproachful  and  inju- 
rious person  will  be  likely,  from  the  influence  of  his  own 
reflections,  to  discover  his  error  and  wrong  speedily. 
Listen  not  to  the  suggestions  of  nature,  which  would 
prompt  a  hasty  reply ;  but  receive  the  injurious  treat- 
ment with   humility  and  calmness  ;  and  He,  in   whose 


*  These  Maxims,  and  also  some  of  the  Chapters  in  the  preceding 
part  of  the  Work,  have  already  appeared  in  the  guide  to  Christian 
Perfection. 


436  RELIGIOUS  MAXIMS. 

name  you  thus  suffer,  will  reward  you  with  inward  con- 
solation, Avhile  He  sends  the  sharp  arrow  of  conviction 
into  the  heart  of  your  adversary. 
III. 
In  whatever  you  are  called  upon  to  do,  endeavor  to 
maintain  a  calm,  collected,  and  prayerful  state  of  mind. 
Self-recollection  is  of  great  importance.  "It  is  good 
for  a  man  to  wait  quietly  for  the  salvation  of  the  Lord." 
He,  who  is  in  what  may  be  called  a  spiritual  hurry,  or 
rather  who  runs  without  having  evidence  of  being  spirit- 
ually sent,  makes  haste  to  no  purpose.  ^ 

^^  IV. 

Seek  holiness  rather  than  consolation.  Not  that  con- 
solation is  to  be  despised,  or  thought  lightly  of;  but 
solid  and  permanent  consolation  is  the  result  rather  than 
the  forerunner  of  holiness  ;  therefore  he,  who  seeks  con- 
solation as  a  distinct  and  independent  object,  will  miss  it. 
Seek  and  possess  holiness,  and  consolation,  (not  perhaps 
often  in  the  form  of  exstatic  and  rapturous  joys,  but 
rather  of  solid  and  delightful  peace,)  wdll  follow,  as  as- 
suredly as  Avarmth  follows  the  dispensation  of  the  rays 
of  the  sun.     He,  who  is  holy,  must  be  happy. 

V. 

Be  not  disheartened  because  the  eye  of  the  world  is 
constantly  and  earnestly  fixed  upon  you,  to  detect  your 
errors  and  to  rejoice  in  your  halting.  But  rather  re- 
g-ard  this  state  of  things,  trying  as  it  may  be,  as  one  of 
the  safeguards,  wdiich  a  kind  Father  has  placed  around 
you,  to  keep  alive  in  your  own  bosoms  an  antagonist 
spirit  of  watchfulness,  and  to  prevent  those  very  mistakes 
and  transgressions,  which  your  enemies  eagerly  antici- 
pate. 

VI. 

Do   not  think  it  strange,  when  troubles  and  persecu- 


RELIGIOUS  MAXDIS.  437 

tions  come  upon  you.  Rather  receive  them  quietly  and 
thankfully,  as  coming  from  a  Father's  hand.  Yea,  hap- 
py are  ye,  if,  in  the  exercise  of  faith,  you  can  look  above 
the  earthly  instrumentality,  above  the  selfishness  and 
malice  of  men,  to  him  who  has  permitted  them  for  your 
good.  Thus  persecuted  they  the  Savior  and  the  proph- 
ets. 

^^^,,^  VII. 

"Be  ye  angry  and  sin  not."  The  life  of  our  Savior, 
as  well  as  the  precepts  of  the  apostles,  clearly  teaches  us, 
that  there  may  be  occasions,  on  which  we  may  have  feel- 
ings of  displeasure,  and  even  of  anger,  without  sin.  Sin 
does  not  necessarily  attach  to  anger,  considered  in  its  na- 
ture, but  in  its  degree.  Nevertheless,  anger  seldom  exists 
in  fact,  without  becoming  in  its  measurement  inordinate 
and  excessive.  Hence  it  is  important  to  watch  against 
it,  lest  we  be  led  into  transgression.  Make  it  a  rule,  there- 
fore, never  to  give  any  outward  expression  to  angry  feel- 
ings, (a  course  which  will  operate  as  a  powerful  check 
upon  their  excessive  action,)  until  you  have  made  them 
the  subject  of  reflection  and  prayer.  And  thus  you  may 
hope  to  be  kept. 

VIII. 

True  peace  of  mind  does  not  depend,  as  some  seem  to 
suppose,  on  the  external  incidents  of  riches  and  poverty, 
of  health  and  sickness,  of  friendship  and  enmities.  It  has 
no  necessary  dependence  upon  society  or  seclusion ;  upon 
dwelling  in  cities  or  in  the  desert;  upon  the  possession  of 
temporal  power,  or  a  condition  of  temporal  insignificance 
and  weakness.  "The  kingdom  of  God  is  within  you."  Let 
the  heart  be  right,  let  it  be  fully  united  with  the  will  of  God, 
and  we  shall  be  entirely  contented  with  those  circumstan- 
ces, in  which  Providence  has  seen  fit  to  place  us,  however 
unpropitious  they  may  be  in  a  worldly  point  of  view.  He, 
S7« 


^ 


438  RELIGIOUS  MAXDIS. 

who  gains  the   victory  over  himself,  gains   the   victory 
over  all  his  enemies. 

^  IX. 

Some  persons  think  of  obedience  as  if  it  were  nothing- 
else,  and  could  be  nothing  else,  than  servitude.  And  it 
must  be  admitted,  that  constrained  obedience  is  so.  He, 
Avho  obeys  bj-  compulsion  and  not  freely,  wears  a  chain 
upon  his  spirit,  which  continually  frets  and  torments, 
while  it  confines  him.  But  this  is  not  Christian  obe- 
dience. To  obey  with  the  whole  heart,  in  other  words 
to  obey  as  Christ  would  have  us,  is  essentially  the  same 
as  to  be  perfectly  resigned  to  the  will  of  God ;  having 
no  will  but  His.  And  he  must  have  strange  notions  of 
the  interior  and  purified  life,  who  supposes,  that  the  obe- 
dience, which  revolves  constantly  and  joyfully  within  the 
limits  of  the  Divine  Will,  partakes  of  the  nature  of  servi- 
tude. On  the  contrary,  true  obedience,  that  which  has  its 
seat  in  the  affections,  and  which  flows  out  lifce  the  gushing 
of  water,  may  be  said,  in  a  very  important  sense,  to  pos- 
sess.not  only  the  nature,  but  the  very  essence  of  free- 
dom. 

X. 

A  sanctified  state  of  heart  does  not  require  to  be  sus- 
tained by  any  mere  forms  of  bodily  excitation.  It  gets 
above  the  dominion,  at  least  in  a  very  considerable  de- 
gree, of  the  nerves  and  the  senses.  It  seeks  an  atmos- 
phere of  cahnness,  of  thought,  of  holy  meditation. 

XI. 

.  Our  spiritual  strength  will  be  nearly  in  proportion  to 
the  absence  of  self-dependence,  and  self-confidence. 
When  we  are  weak  in  ourselves,  we  shall  not  fail,  if  we 
apply  to  the  right  source  for  help,  to  be  found  strong  in  the 
Lord.  Madame  Guy  on,  speaking  of  certain  temptations 
to  which  she  had  been  exposed,  says,  "I  then  compre- 


RELIGIOUS  MAXIMS.  430 

hended  what  power  a  soul  has,  which  is  entirely  annihi- 
lated." This  is  strong  language  ;  but  when  it  is  properly 
understood,  it  conveys  important  truth.  When  we  sink 
in  ourselves,  we  rise  in  God.  When  we  have  no  strength 
in  ourselves,  we  have  divine  power  in  Him,  who  can 
subdue  all  his  adversaries.  "The  Lord  is  my  rock  and 
my  fortress,  and  my  deliverer ;  my  God,  my  strength,  in 
whom  I  will  trust ;  my  buckler,  and  the  horn  of  my  sal- 
vation, and  my  high  tower."  ..^^^ 
xn. 
In  proportion  as  the  heart  becomes  sanctified,  there  is 
a  diminished  tendency  to  enthusiasm  and  fanaticism. 
And  this  is  undoubtedly  one  of  the  leading  tests  of 
sauctification.  One  of  the  marks  of  an  enthusi- 
astic and  fanatical  state  of  mind,  is  a  fiery  and  unre- 
strained impetuosity  of  feeling  ;  a  rushing  on,  sometimes 
very  blindly,  as  if  the  world  were  in  danger,  or  as  if  the 
great  Creator  were  not  at  the  helm.  It  is  not  only  feel- 
ing without  a  good  degree  of  judgment,  but,  what  is  the 
corrupting  and  fatal  trait,  it  is  feeling  without  a  due  de- 
gi'ee  of  confidence  in  God.  True  holiness  reflects  the 
image  of  God  in  this  respect  as  well  as  in  others,  that  it 
is  calm,  thoughtful,  deliberate,  immutable.  And  how 
can  it  be  otherwise,  since,  rejecting  its  own  wisdom  and 
strength,  it  incorporates  into  itself  the  wisdom  and 
strength  of  the  Almighty. 

XIII. 

The  hidden  life,  which  God  imparts  to  his  accepted 
people,  may  flourish  in  solitudes  and  deserts ;  far  from 
tJie  societies  of  men  and  the  din  and  disturbance  of  cities. 
From  the  cave  of  the  hermit,  from  the  cell  of  the  solitary 
recluse,  the  fervent  prayer  has  often  arisen,  which  has 
been  acceptable  in  the  sight  of  God.  But  it  would  be 
a  strange  and  fatal  misconception,  that  religion,  even  in 


410  RELIGIOUS  MAXIMS. 

its  most  pure  and  triumphant  exaltations,  can  flourishrtno 
where  else.  The  home  of  holiness  is  in  the  heart,  irre- 
spective of  outward  situations  and  alliances ;  and  there- 
fore we  may  expect  to  find  it,  if  there  are  hearts  adapted 
to  its  reception  and  growth,  in  the  haunts  of  business  as 
well  as  in  the  silence  of  retirement ;  in  the  palaces  of 
Rome,  as  well  as  in  the  deserts  of  the  Thebais.  It  is  a  fatal 
mistake  to  suppose  that  we  cannot  be  holy  except  on  the 
condition  of  a  situation  and  circumstances  in  life  such  as 
shall  suit  ourselves.  It  is  one  of  the  first  principles  of 
holiness  to  leave  our  times  and  our  places,  our  going 
out  and  our  coming  in,  our  wasted  and  our  goodly  herit- 
age entirely  with  the  Lord.  Here,  O  Lord,  hast  thou 
placed  us,  and  we  will  glorify  thee  here. 

XIV. 

In  the  agitations  of  the  present  life,  beset  and  perplex- 
ed as  Ave  are  A\dth  troubles,  how  natural  it  is  to  seek  earn- 
'estly  some  place  of  rest.  And  hence  it  is  that  we  so 
often  reveal  our  cares  and  perplexities  to  our  fellow  men, 
and  seek  comfort  and  support  from  that  source.  But 
the  sanctified  soul,  having  experienced  the  uncertainties 
of  all  human  aids,  turns  instinctively  to  the  great  God. 
And  hiding  itself  in  the  presence  and  protection  of  the 
divine  existence,  it  reposes  there,  as  in  a  strong  tower 
which  no  enemies  can  conquer,  and  as  an  everlasting 
rock  Avhich  no  floods  can  wash  away.  It  knows  the  in- 
structive import  of  that  sublime  exclamation  of  the 
Psalmist,  (Ps.  Ixii.  5,)  "My  soul,  wait  thou  only  upon 
God  ;  for  my  expectation  is  from  him." 
xV. 

Speak  not  often  of  your  OAvn  actions,  nor  even,  when 
it  can  be  properly  avoided,  make  allusion  to  yourself,  as 
an  agent  in  transactions  which  are  calculated  to  attract 
notice.     Wc  do  not  suppose,  as  some  may  be  inclined  to 


RELIGIOUS  BIAXIMS.  411 

do,  that  frequent  speaking  of  our  actions  is  necessarily 
a  proof,  although  it  may  furnish  a  presumption,  of  inor- 
dinate self-love  or  vanity  ;  but  it  cannot  be  denied  that 
by  such  a  course,  we  expose  ourselves  to  temptations 
and  dangers  in  that  direction.  It  is  much  safer,  and  is 
certainly  much  more  profitable,  to  speak  of  what  has 
been  done  for  us  and  ^vrought  in  us, — to  speak,  for  in- 
stance, of  ourselves  as  the  recipients  of  the  goodness  of 
God,  than  to  speak  of  what  we  have  ourselves  done. 
But  even  here,  also,  although  it  may  often  be  an  impera- 
tive duty,  there  is  need  of  deliberation  and  caution. 

XVI.  "^ 

There  are  many  persons,  who  would  willinglj'-  be  Chris- 
tians, and  eminent  Christians  too,  if  Christianity  were 
limited  to  great  occasions.  For  such  occasions  they  call 
forth  whatever  pious  and  devotional  resources  they  have, 
or  seem  to  have,  and  not  only  place  them  in  the  best 
light,  but  inspire  them,  for  the  time  being,  with  the  great- 
est possible  efficiency.  But  on  smaller  occasions,  in  the 
every  day  occurrences  and  events  of  life,  the  religious 
principle  is  in  a  state  of  dormancy  ;  giving  no  signs  of 
effective  vitality  and  movement.  The  life  of  such  per- 
sons is  not  like  that  of  the  sun,  equable,  constant,  diffu- 
sive, and  beneficent,  though  attracting  but  little  notice  ; 
but  like  the  eruptive  and  glaring  blaze  of  volcanoes, 
which  comes  forth  at  remote  periods,  in  company  with 
great  thunderings  and  shakings  of  the  earth  ;  and  yet 
the  heart  of  the  people  is  not  made  glad  by  it.  Such  re- 
ligion is  vain  ;  and  its  possessors  know  not  what  manner 
of  spirit  they  are  of.  * 

XVII. 

Out  of  death  springs  life.  We  must  die  naturally,  in 
order  that  we  may  live  spiritually.  The  beautiful  flow- 
ers spring   up  from  dead   seeds ;  and  from  the  death  of 


442  RELIGIOUS  MAXIMS. 

those  evil  principles,  that  spread  so  diffusively  and  dark- 
ly over  the  natural  heart,  springs  up  the  beauty  of  a  new 
life,  the  quiet  but  ravishing  bloom  of  Holiness. 

XVIII. 

A  strong  faith  has  the  power  to  make  a  virtual  and 
present  reality  of  those  things  which  are  in  fact  future. 
Be  it  so  that  we  have  not  the  thing  itself  in  the  literal 
sense  of  the  term  ;  that  we  have  not  heaven  ;  that  we 
have  not  the  visible  presence  of  Christ ;  that  we  have 
not  those  things,  whatsoever  they  may  be,  Avhich  consti- 
tute the  glory  and  blessedness  of  the  future  Avorld.  But 
it  is  certain  that  in  the  Bible  Ave  have  the  promise  of 
them ;  we  h^ve  the  title-deed,  the  bond,  the  mortgage, 
most  solemnly  made  out  and  delivered  to  us.  All  these 
things  are,  therefore,  ours,  if  we  fully  believe  in  the 
promise  ;  and  they  can  all  be  made,  in  the  exercise  of 
entire  faith,  a  virtual  and  present  reality.  A  man  reck- 
ons his  notes,  bonds,  and  bills,  which  are  the  certificates 
and  confirmations  of  absent  possessions,  as  so  much  prop- 
erty, as  actual  money,  although  it  is  only  virtually  and 
by  faith  realized  to  be  such.  He  counts  himself  as  truly 
and  really  owning  the  property,  in  amount  and  kind, 
which  the  face  of  his  papers,  of  his  notes  and  bonds,  rep- 
resents. And  yet  he  has  nothing  in  hand  but  his  pa- 
pers, and  his  faith  in  the  individuals,  who  have  signed 
them.  How  much  more  then  should  we  have  faith  in 
our  title  deeds,  in  oicr  bonds  and  testaments,  Avhich  are 
written  in  the  blood  of  the  Son  of  God,  are  confirmed  by 
the  oath  of  the  Father,  and  are  witnessed  by  the  Holy 
Ghost !  And  how  much  mor^  should  we,  having  such 
deeds  and  bonds,  and  such  immutable  confirmations  of 
them,  count  God  ours,  and  Christ  and  the  Holy  Spirit 
ours,  and  eternal  glory  ours  ! 


RELIGIOUS  MAXDIS.  443 

XIX. 

It  is  an  excellent  saying  of  the  celebrated  Fenelon,  "It 
is  only  imperfection  that  complains  of  what  is  imperfect." 
It  would  be  Avell  for  those,  who  aim  at  Christian  perfec- 
tion, to  remember  this.  Surrounded  by  those  who  con- 
stantly exhibit  defects  of  character  and  conduct,  if  we 
yield  to  a  complaining  and  impatient  spirit,  we  shall  mar 
our  own  peace,  Avithout  having  the  satisfaction  of  bene- 
fitting others.  When  the  mind  is  in  a  right  position, 
absorbed  in  God  and  truly  dead  to*the  Avorld,  it  Avill  not 
be  troubled  by  these  things.  Or  if  it  be  othenvise,  and 
we  are  in  fact  afflicted,  it  Avill  be  for  others  and  not  for 
ourseh^es  ;  and  Ave  shall  be  more  disposed  to  pity  than 
to  complain. 

XX. 

Prayer  Avithout  faith  is  vain.  A  pious  English  A\'riter, 
one  Avho  lived  as  far  back  as  the  days  of  the  Puritans, 
and  Avho  uses  A'arious  homely  but  instructive  illustrations 
after  the  manner  of  those  times,  calls  prayer  the  "bucket 
of  the  soul,  by  Avhich  it  draAvs  Avater  out  of  the  Avells  of 
salvation.  But  Avithout  Faith,  you  may  let  doAvn  this 
bucket  again  and  again,  and  never  bring  up  one  drop  of 
solid  comfort."*  It  is  Faith,  Avhich  fills  the  bucket. 
And  accordingly,  if  our  faith  be  Aveak,  Ave  shall  find  but 
poor  and  famishing  returns.  A  full  bucket  depends  on 
the  condition  of  a  strong  faith. 

XXI. 

One  of  the  most  important  requisites  of  a  holy  life  is 
PATIENCE.  And  by  this,  Ave  do  not  mean  merely  a  meek 
and  quiet  temper,  AA^hen  one  is  personally  assaulted  and 
injured ;  but  a  like  meekness  and  quietness  of  temper 
in  relation  to  the  moral  and  religious  progress  of  the 
world.     We  may  be  deeply  afflicted  in  A'ieAv  of  the  des- 

*■  Symond's  Sight  aud  Faith,  printed  in  1651. 


444  RELIGIOUS  MAXIMS. 

olatlons  of  Zion  ;  but  let  us  ever  remember  and  rejoice, 
that  the  cause  of  truth  and  holiness  is  lodged  safely  in 
the  hands  of  God.  With  him  a  thousand  years  are  as 
one  day.  And  in  the  darkest  moments,  when  Satan 
seems  to  be  let  loose  with  ten-fold  fury,  let  us  thank 
God  and  take  courage,  because  the  Lord  God  Omnipo- 
tent reigneth. 

XXII. 

It  may  sometimes  be  practically  important  to  make  a 
distinction  between  a  renunciation  of  the  world  and  a  re- 
nunciation of  ourselves.  A  man  may,  in  a  certain  sense 
and  to  a  certain  extent,  renounce  the  world,  and  yet  may 
find  himself  greatly  disappointed  in  his  anticipations  of 
spiritual  improvement  and  benefit.  He  has  indeed  re- 
nounced the  world,  as  it  presents  itself  to  us  in  its  exter- 
nalities ;  he  has  renounced  its  outward  attractions  ;  its 
perverted  and  idle  shows.  He  may  have  carried  his  re- 
nouncement so  far  as  to  seclude  himself  entirely  from 
society,  and  to  spend  his  days  in  some  solitary  desert. 
But  it  avails  nothing,  or  almost  nothing,  because  there 
is  not  at  the  same  time  an  internal  renunciation ;  a  cru- 
cifixion and  renunciation  of  self.  A  mere  crucifixion  of 
the  outward  world  may  still  leave  a  vitality  and  luxuri- 
ance of  the  selfish  principle  ;  but  a  crucifixion  of  self  nec- 
essarily involves  the  crucifixion,  in  the  scripture  sense, 
of  every  thing  else. 

'^        ^  XXIII. 

'^It  is  one  among  the  pious  and  valuable  maxims, 
w^hich  are  ascribed  to  Francis  de  Sales ;  "A  judicious 
silence  is  always  better  than  truth  spoken  Avithout  char- 
ity.-" The  very  undertaking  to  instruct  or  censure  others, 
implies  an  assumption  of  intellectual  or  moral  superiori- 
ty. It  cannot  be  expected,  therefore,  that  the  attempt 
will  be  well  received,  unless  it  is  tempered  with  a  heav- 


RELIGIOUS  MAXIMS.  .  445 

enly  spirit.  "Though  I  speak  with  the  tongues  of  men 
and  of  angels,  and  have  not  charity,  I  am  become  as 
sounding  brass,  or  a  tinkling  cymbal." 

XXIV. 

We  may  be  deprived  of  outward  consolations  and  still 
have  consolations  of  heart.  But  this  is  not  all.  We 
may  be  deprived  in  the  sovereignty  of  God,  and  for  wise 
purposes,  of  i/iwjarc?  consolations  also  ;_and  may  be  left 
for  a  time  in  a  state  of  mental  barrenness  and  desolation. 
And  yet  faith,  precious  faith,  discouraging  as  this  state 
of  things  may  seem,  may  still  remain  ;  and  not  feebly 
merely,  but  in  the  strength  and  fulness  of  its  exercise. 
It  is  still  our  delightful  privilege  to  say  of  God,  that  He 
is  02ir  God,  our  Father,  our  Friend  and  Portion.  "Bless- 
ed is  the  man,  that  trusteth   in  the  Lord." 

XXV. 

"^  No  man  ever  arrived  at  Christian  perfection,  no  man 
ever  can  arrive  at  that  ennobling  state,  who  walks  by 
sight  ratlT^r  than  by  faith,  of  whom  it  cannot  be  said,  a;s 
of  the  father  of  the  faithful,  "he  went  out,  not  knoioing 
tohither  he  went.''''  Perhaps  we  may  say,  it  is  the  high- 
est attainment  of  the  soul,  (certainly  it  is  the  foundation 
of  the  highest  or  perfect  state  in  all  other  Christian  at- 
tainments,) that  of  entire  and  unwavering  confidence  in 
Crod.  O,  God,  we  are  thine ;  forever  thine.  We  will 
not  let  Thee  go,  until  Thou  bless  us.  And  when  Thou 
dost  bless  us,  still  we  will  not  let  Thee  go.  For  without 
Thee,  even  blessing  would  be  turned  into  cursing. — 
Therefore  will  we  ever  trust  in  Thee. 

XXVI. 

Always  make  it  a  rule   to  do  every  thing,  which  it 

is  proper  and  a  duty  to  do,  in  the  best  manner  and  to  the 

best  of  your  ability.     An  imperfect  execution  of  a  thing, 

where  we  might  have  done  better,  is  not  only  unprofita- 

38 


446  RELIGIOUS  JMAXDIS. 

l)le,  but  it  is  a  vicioiis  execution ;  or  in  other  words,  is 
morally  wrong.  He,  who  aims  at  perfection  in  great 
things,  but  is  willing  to  be  imperfect  in  little  things,  will 
find  himself  essentially  an  imperfect  man.  The  perfec- 
tion of  the  greater  will  be  no  compensation,  and  no  ex- 
cuse for  the  imperfection  of  the  less.  Such  a  person 
Avants  the  essential  principle  of  universal  obedience. 
Consider  well,  therefore,  what  God  in  his  Providence 
would  have  you  perform  ;  and  if  you  feel  the  spirit  of 
those  directions,  which  require  us  to  do  all  things  as  unto 
God  rather  than  unto  men,  you  will  not  do  them  with  a 
false  heart  or  a  feeble  hand.  And  thus  in  small  things, 
as  well  as  in  great,  in  those  which  are  unseen  as  well  as 
in  those  which  attract  notice,  it  shall  be  said  of  you, 
"  Well  done,  good  and  faithful  servant." 
xxvii. 
A  fixed,  inflexible  will  is  a  great  assistance  in  a  holy 
life.  Satan  will  suggest  a  thousand  reasons,  why  we 
should  yield  a  iittle  to  the  temptations  by  which  we  are 
surrounded ;  but  let  us  ever  stand  fast  in  our  purpose. 
A  good  degree  of  d,ecision  and  tenacity  of  purpose  is  of 
great  importance  in  the  ordinary  aflairs  of  life.  How 
much  more  so  in  the  things  of  religion  !  He,  who  is 
easily  shaken,  will  find  the  way  of  holiness  difficult ; 
perhaps  impracticable.  A  double-minded  man,  he,  who 
has  no  fixedness  of  purpose,  no  energy  of  will,  is  "  un- 
stable in  all  his  ways."  Ye,  who  walk  in  the  narrow 
■vvay,  let  your  resolution  be  unalterable.  Think  of  the 
blessed  Savior.  "  My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  Thou 
forsaken  me  ?"  Though  he  Avas  momentarily  forsaken, 
at  least  so  far  as  to  be  left  to  anguish  inconceivable  and 
unutterable,  his  heart  nevertheless  was  fixed,  and  he 
could  still  say,  "  My  God,  my  God." 


RELIGIOUS  MAXIMS.  447 

XXVIII. 

We  may  pray  with  the  intellect,  Avithout  praying  with 
the  heart ;  but  we  cannot  pray  with  the  heart  without 
praying  with  the  intellect.  Such  are  the  laws  of  the 
mind,  that  there  can  be  no  such  thing  as  praying  with- 
out a  knowledge  of  the  thing  we  pray  for.  Let  the  heart 
be  full,  wholly  given  up  to  the  pursuit  of  the  object ;  but 
let  your  perception  of  the  object  be  distinct  and  clear. 
This  will  be  found  honorable  to  God  and  beneficial  to 
the  soul. 

XXIX. 

Many  persons  think  they  are  seeking  holiness,  when 
they  are  in  fact  seeking  the  "  loaves  and  fishes."  To  be 
holy  is  to  be  like  Christ,  who,  as  the  Captain  of  our  sal- 
vation, was  made  perfect  through  suffering.  We  must 
be  willing  to  bear  the  Cross,  if  we  would  wear  the  cro^vn. 
In  seeking  holiness,  therefore,  let  us  think  little  of  joy, 
but  much  of  purity ;  little  of  ourselves,  but  much  of  God ; 
little  of  our  own  wills,  but  much  of  the  Divine  will.  We 
will  choose  the  deepest  poverty  and  affliction  with  the 
will  of  God,  rather  than  all  earthly  goods  and  prosperi- 
ties without  it.  It  is  God  we  seek,  and  not  happiness. 
If  we  have  God,  He  will  not  fail  to  take  care  of  us.  If 
we  abide  in  Him,  even  a  residence  in  hell  could  not 
harm  us.  "  As  the  hart  panteth  after  the  water-brooks, 
so  panteth  my  soul  after  Thee,  0  God.  My  soul  thirst- 
eth  for  God,  for  the  living  God." 

XXX. 

Thou  hast  contended  with  Satan,  and  hast  been  suc- 
cessful. Thou  hast  fought  with  him,  and  he  has  fled 
from  thee.  But,  0,  remember  his  artifices.  Do  not  in- 
dulge the  belief  that  his  nature  is  changed.  True,  in- 
deed, he  is  now  very  complacent,  and  is,  perhaps,  sing- 
ing thee  some  syren  song ;  but  he  was  never  more  a 


448  RELIGIOUS  MAXIMS. 

devil  than  he  is  now.     He  now  assauUs  thee,  by  not  as- 
saulting thee ;  and  knows  that  he   shall  conquer,  when 

THOU  FALLEST  ASLEEP. 

XXXI. 

The  value  of  a  thing  is  known  by  what  it  takes  to  pre- 
serve it,  as  well  as  by  what  it  originally  cost.  Men  may 
steal  your  diamonds,  who  would  not  trouble  things  of  less 
Avorth.  The  cost  of  holiness  was  the  blood  of  the  Son 
of  God ;  and  greatly  does  he  mistake,  who  supposes  it 
can  be  preserved  by  anything  short  of  eternal  vigi- 
lance. 

XXXII. 

If  earthly  plants  are  permitted  to  spring  up  in  the 
heart,  how  is  it  possible  that  the  tree  of  holiness  should 
flourish?  With  the  ground  already  occupied  with  earth- 
ly products,  the  roots  of  sanctification,"  deprived  of  the 
nourishment,  which  should  sustain  them,  necessari- 
ly wither  and  die.  There  is  not  nutriment  enough 
to  sustain  both.  Hence  it  is  that  our  Savior,  in  his  di- 
vine wisdom,  tells  us  of  those  who  are  choked  with  the 
riches,  and  cares,  and  pleasures  of  this  life,  "and   bring 

NO  FRUIT  TO  PERFECTION." 
.^'^  XXXIII. 

The  power  of  Satan  is  gi-eat.  And  it  is  his  appropri- 
ate business  continually  to  assault  the  saints  of  God.  If 
then,  in  some  unhappy  and  evil  moment,  (by  thine  own 
fault  be  it  remembered,)  he  gains  an  advantage,  lament 
over  it  deeply,  but  do  not  be  discouraged.  Remember 
if  the  great  enemy  gets  from  thee  thy  resolution,  thy 
fixed  purpose,  he  gets  all.  To  be  defeated  is  not  to  be 
wholly  destroyed.  But  on  the  contrary,  he,  and  he  only, 
hath  victory  written  upon  his  forehead,  who,  in  the  mo- 
ment of  his  severest  overthrow,  hath  still  the  heart  to  say, 
"with  the  Lord  helping  me,  I  will  try  again," 


RELIGIOUS  MAXIMS.  449 

XXXIV. 

It  seems  to  have  been  the  doctrine  of  some  advocates 
of  Christian  perfection,  especially  some  pious  Catholics 
of  former  times,  that  the  A^arious  propensities  and  affec- 
tions and  particularly  the  bodily  appetites,  ought  to 
be  entirely  eradicated.  But  this  doctrine,  when  carried 
to  its  full  extent,  is  one  of  the  artifices  of  Satan,  by  which 
the  cause  of  holiness  has  been  greatly  injured.  It  is  not 
more  difficult  to  regulate  the  natural  principles,  than  to 
destroy  them  ;  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  more  diffi- 
cult duty  in  this  case,  is  the  scripture  one.  We  are  not 
required  to  eradicate  our  natural  propensities  and  affec- 
tions, but  to  purifij  them.  We  are  not  required  to  cease 
to  be  men,  but  merely  to  become  holy  men. 

XXXV. 

It  is  of  the  nature  of  holiness  to  unite  with  whatever 
is  like  itself.  It  flies  on  eagle's  wings  to  meet  its  own 
image.  Accordingly  the  soul,  so  long  as  it  is  stained 
with  sin,  has  an  affinity  with  what  is  sinful.  But  when 
it  is  purified  from  iniquity,  it  ascends  boldly  upward 
and  rests,  by  the  impulse  of  its  own  being,  in  the  bosom 
of  its  God.  The  element  of  separation  is  taken  away ; 
and  a  union,  strong  as  the  universe  and  lasting  as  eter- 
nity, necessarily  takes  place.  '■'■He,  that  is  joined  unto 
the  Lord,  is  one  spirit.'''' — 1  Cor.  vi.   17. 

^  XXXVI. 

It  is  sometimes  the  case,  that  those,  who  are  seeking 
sanctification,  anticipate  results  which  are  more  accor- 
dant with  human  wisdom,  than  with  the  ways  of  divine 
Providence.  They  say,  "make  me  clean,  and  I  shall 
have  UNDERSTANDING.  Sanctify  me,  and  I  shall  be  made 
STRONG."  Such  anticipations,  which  shoAv  that  the 
heart  is  not  yet  delivered  from  its  worldliness,  are  not 
confirmed,  in  the  sense  in  which  they  now  exist  in  the 
33* 


450  RELIGIOUS  MAXIMS. 

mind,  by  their  subsequent  experience.  When  sanctified, 
as  they  are  thoroughly  emptied  of  self,  they  have  neith- 
er wisdom  nor  strength  of  their  own.  They  know  not 
w^hat  to  do,  nor  how  to  do  it.  They  abhor  the  idea  of 
placing  confidence  in  themselves,  and  find  they  must  ap- 
ply to  the  Savior  for  every  thing.  They  derive  all 
from  him.  In  the  language  of  scripture,  he  is  made  to 
them  "wisdom,  and  righteousness,  and  sanctification , 
and    redemption ;  that,    according   as    it  is   written,    he 

THAT  GLORIETH,  LET  HIM  GLORY  IN  THE   LORD." 
XXXVII. 

It  is  a  melancholy  fact,  that  the  religion  of  many  per- 
sons is  not  constantly  operative,  but  it  is  manifested  pe- 
riodically, or  at  some  particular  times.  It  is  assumed, 
for  instance,  on  the  Sabbath  ;  but  is  laid  aside  on  the 
shelf  during  the  week  days.  But  true  holiness,  be  it  re- 
membered, is  not  a  thing  to  be  worn  for  occasions  ;  to  be 
put  off  or  put  on,  with  an  easy  accommodation  to  circum- 
stances or  one's  private  convenience.  It  takes  too  deep 
root  in  the  heart  to  be  so  easily  disposed  of  as  such  a 
course  would  imply.  It  is  meat,  Avith  Avhich  we  are  fed  ; 
clothing,  with  which  we  are  clothed  ;  the  interior  and 
permanent  principle  of  life,  which  animates  and  sus- 
tains the  whole  man. 

xxxvni. 

The  remark  is  somewhere  made,  and  very  correctly, 
that  "/Y  is  a  great  loss  to  lose  an  afflictio7i."  Certain  it 
is,  that  afflictions  have  great  poAver  in  purifying  the  mind. 
And  if  it  be  true  that  mental  purification,  in  other  words, 
holiness,  is  a  resulti  of  all  others  the  most  desirable,  we 
may  properly  attach  a  great  value  to  whatever  tends  to 
this  result.  Prosperities  flatter  us  with  the  hope  that 
our  rest  is  here  ;  but  afflictions  lead  our  thoughts  to  an- 
other and  better  land.  "Whom  the  Lord  loveth  he 
chasteneth  ;  and  scourgeth  every  son  that  he  receiveth." 


RELIGIOUS  MAXIMS.  451 


X 


XXXIX. 

It  is  a  striking  remark,  ascribed  to  St  Augustine,  that 
prayer  is  the  measure  of  love.  A  remark  which  implies, 
that  those,  who  love  much,  will  pray  much  ;  and  that 
those  who  pray  much,  Avill  love  much.  This  remark  is 
not  more  scripturally  than  philosophically  true.  It  is  the 
nature  of  love  to  lead  the  person  who  exercises  this  pas- 
sion, as  it  were,  out  of  himself.  His  heart  is  continual- 
ly attracted  towards  the  beloved  object.  He  naturally 
and  necessarily  exercises,  in  connection  Avith  the  object 
of  love,  the  communion  of  the  affections.  And  this,  it 
will  be  readily  ^een,  viz :  the  communion  of  the  affec- 
tions, is  the  essential  characteristic  ;  and  perhaps  it  may 
be  said,  the  ess^flpe  and  sum  of  prayer.  In  acceptable 
prayer  the  soul  goes  forth  to  God  in  various  acts  of  ado- 
ration, supplication,  and  thanksgiving  ;  all  of  Avhich  im- 
ply feelings  of  trust  and  confidence,  and  particularly  love 
to  him,  who  is  the  object  of  prayer.  Accordingly  he, 
who  loves  much,  cannot  help  praying  much.  And  on 
the  other  hand,  when  the  streams  of  holy  communion 
wdth  God  fail  in  any  considerable  degree,  it  is  a  sure 
sign  that  that  there  is  a  shallowness  and  drought  in  that 
fountain  of  loA'^e,  from  which  they  have  their  source. 

XL. 

The  divine  life,  which  in  eA^ery  stage  of  its  existence 
depends  upon  the  presence  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  places 
a  high  estimate  on  mental  tranquillity.  It  is  no  new 
thing  to  remark  that  the  Holy  Spirit  has  no  congeniality 
with,  and  no  pleasure  in  the  soul,  A\-here  strife  and  clam- 
or have  taken  possession.  If,  therefore,  A\^e  Avould  haA^e 
the  Holy  Spirit  Avith  us  ahvays,  AA'^e  must  avoid  and  flee, 
with  all  the  intensity  of  our  being,  all  inordinate  covet- 
ing, all  euA-i^Mng,  malice,  and  eA'il  speaking,  all  impr.- 
tience,  jealousy,  and  anger.     Of  such  a  heart,  and  such 


452  RELIGIOUS  MAXIMS. 

only,  which  is  calm  as  Avell  as  pure,  partaking  something 
of  the  self-collected  and  sublime  tranquillity  of  the  divine 
mind,  can  it  be  said,  in  the  truest  and  highest  sense,  that 

it  is  a  A  TEMPLE  FITTED    FOR  THE  INDWELLING  OF  THE  Ho- 

LY  Ghost. 

XLI. 

Where  there  is  true  Christian  perfection,  there  is  al- 
ways great  humility ;  a  Christian  grace  which  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  define,  but  which  implies  at  least  a  quiet  and  sub- 
dued, a  meek  and  forbearing  spirit.  Whatever  may  be 
our  supposed  gifts  and  graces,  whatever  may  be  our  in- 
ternal pleasures  and  raptures,  they  are  far  from  furnish- 
ing evidence  of  completeness  of  Christian  character  with-  ■ 
out  humility.  It  is  this  grace,  which  perhaps  more  than 
any  other,  imparts  a  beauty  and  attractiveness  to  the  re- 
ligious life  ;  and  Avhich,  AA'hile  it  is  blessed  with  the  fa- 
vor and  approbation  of  God,  has  the  additional  efficacy 
of  disarming,  in  a  considerable  degree,  even  the  hostility 
of  unholy  men.  It  has  the  appearance  of  a  contradic- 
tion in  terms,  but  is  nevertheless  true,  that  he,  who  walks 
in  humility,  walks  in  power. 

XLII. 

It  is,  perhaps,  a  common  idea  that  humility  implies 
weakness  ;  and  that  lowliness  of  spirit  is  the  same  thing 
with  spiritual  imbecility.  But  this  certainly  is  not  a 
correct  view.  Christian  humility,  it  is  true,  has  nothing 
in  itself;  but  it  has  much  in  God.  In  a  word,  it  is  the 
renunciation  of  our  own  wisdom,  that  we  may  receive 
wisdom  from  above  ;  the  negation  and  banishment  of 
our  own  strength,  that  we  may  possess  divine  strength  ; 
the  rejection  of  our  own  righteousness,  that  we  may  re- 
ceive the  righteousness  of  Christ.  How,  then,  can  it 
possibly  be  weak  and  imbecile,  while  it  merely  casts  off 
the  broken  shield  of  earth,  that  it  may  put  on  the  bright 
panoply  of  heaven  ? 


RELIGIOUS  MAXIMS.  453 


■^  XLIII. 

In  vain  does  the^jnan  attempt  to  see,  whose  sight  is 
obscured  by  the  cararact,  or  by  some  other  equally  ruin- 
ous disease.  Nor  is  he  less  blind,  over  whose  spiritual 
eye  sin  has  drawn  its  opaque  scales  and  films.  Hence 
it  is  said  in  scripture,  "The  light  shineth  in  darkness, 
and  the  darkness  comprehended  it  not,"  But  break  off 
and  purge  away  the  spiritual  cataract,  and  the  power  of 
vision  will  return.  In  proportion  as  the  eye  of  the  soul 
is  purified  from  the  perplexity  of  earthly  corruptions, 
does  Christ  become  the  true  light  of  the  mind ;  and  the 
beauty  of  the  divine  character  begins  from  that  moment 
to  unveil  itself  in  all  its  wonderful  perfection.  "Bless- 
ed ARE  THE  PURE  IN  HEART,  FOR  THEY  SHALL  SEE  GoD." 
XLIV. 

Pray  earnestly  for  sanctification.  Let  this  be  the  de- 
sire of  your  heart  from  morning  till  evening,  and  from 
evening  till  morning.  On  this  subject  keep  the  soul  res- 
olutely fixed.  Take  no  denial.  Refuse  to  be  comforted, 
till  you  are  blessed.  But  nevertheless,  be  careful,  that 
you  impose  no  conditions  upon  God.  Say  not,  thou  must 
do  it  in  this  way  or  in  that.  Remember,  He  is  a  sove- 
reign ;  and  that  you  are  nothing.  Sometimes  He  comes 
and  turns  out  the  evil  legions  of  the  heart  with  observa- 
tion and  with  a  triumphant  shout.  But  not  un frequent- 
ly He  is  mighty  in  his  silence,  and  smites  and  destroys 
his  enemies  by  an  agency  so  mysterious  and  secret,  that 
it  seems  to  be  alike  unseen  and  unheard. 

yt^  XLV.  ""^ 

When  on  a  certain  occasion  the  pious  Fenelon,  after 
having  experienced  much  trouble  and  persecution  from 
his  opposers,  was  advised  by  some  one  to  take  greater 
precautions  against  the  artifices  and  evil  designs  of  men, 
he  made  answer  in  the  true  spirit  of  a  Christian,  moria- 


454  RELIGIOUS  MAXIMS. 

MUR  IN  siMPLiciTATE  NOSTRA,  "Ze^  iis  die  in  onr  simplici- 
ty." He,  that  is  Avholly  in  Christ,  has  a  oneness  and  purity 
of  purpose,  aUogether  inconsistent  with  those  tricks  and 
subterfuges,  which  are  so  common  among  men.  He 
walks  in  broad  day.  He  goes  forth  in  the  light  of  con- 
scious honesty.  He  is  willing,  that  men  and  angels 
should  read  the  very  bottom  of  his  heart.  He  has  but 
one  rule.  His  language  is  in  the  ordinary  affairs  of  life, 
as  well  as  in  the  duties  of  religion,  "My  Father,  what 
wilt  thou  have  me  to  do?" — This  is  christian  simplicity  ; 
and  happy,  thrice  happy  is  he,  who  possesses  it. 

XLVI. 

If  we  Avish  to  rise  high  in  God,  Ave  must  be  AA'illing  to 
sink  low  in  ourselves.  It  may  seem  like  a  contradiction 
in  terms,  but  it  is  nevertheless  true,  that  there  is  no  ele- 
vation in  true  religion  higher  than  that  of  profound  hu- 
mility. He,  that  Avould  be  the  greatest,  must  become 
the  least.  He,  Avho  is  equal  Avith  God,  condescended  to 
become  man.  And  it  Avas  the  J^eloved  Son  of  the  Most 
High,  that  washed  the  feelTof  the  disciples.  y^ 

XLVII.  *^ 

It  is  not  by  the  mere  number  of  our  words  and  actions, 
that  we  can  most  effectually  serve  the  cause  of  God  and 
glorify  his  name.  It  is  the  temper  in  Avhich  they  are 
done,  rather  than  the  mere  multiplication  of  them,  A\'hich 
gives  them  poAver.  It  Avas  the  remark  of  a  good  man, 
who  had  much  experience  as  a  minister  of  the  gospel, 
that  "ztfg  mar  the  work  of  God  by  doing  it  in  our  own 
spirit." 

XLVIII. 

Many  persons  seem  to  be  more  solicitous  for  strong 
emotions  than  for  right  emotions.  It  Avould  perhaps  be 
a  fair  representation  of  their  state  to  say  the  burden  of 
their  prayer  is,  that  their  souls  might  be  like  "the  char- 


RELIGIOUS  MAXIMS.  455 

lots  of  Amminadi'b"  or  that,  like  Paul,  they  may  be 
caught  up  into  the  third  heavens.  They  seem  desirous, 
perhaps  ahnost  unconsciously  to  themselves,  to  experience 
or  to  do  some  great,  as  well  as  some  good  thing.  Would 
it  not  be  better  for  them  in  a  more  chastened  and  hum- 
ble temper  of  mind,  to  make  it  the  burden  and  emphasis 
of  their  supplication,  that  they  may  be  meek,  forbearing, 
and  forgiving ;  that  they  may  have  a  willingness  to 
wash  the  disciples'  feet,  and  have  great  love  even  for 
their  enemies ;  in  a  word,  that  they  may  bear  the  image 
of  Christ,  Avho  came  not  with  observation,  but  was  ^^meek 
and  lowly  of  heart  ?  " 

XLIX. 

It  is  quite  possible  for  a  man  to  possess  evidence  of 
sanctification,  who  is  temporarily  destitute  of  joyful  and 
rapturous  emotions.  But  it  is  not  possible  for  a  man  to 
possess  such  evidence,  who  is  destitute  of  a  living,  ope- 
rative, and  effective  conscience.  On  no  part  of  our  na- 
ture does  sanctification  Avork  greater  effects  than  on  the 
conscience.  It  may  be  said  to  give  to  it  an  intensity  and 
multiplicity  of  existence ;  so  that  like  the  flaming  sword 
of  the  cherubims,  it  turns  every  way  and  guards  the  tree 
of  life. 

L. 

The  man,  who  is  troubled  at  great  sins,  particularly 
such  as  involve  a  degree  of  notoriety,  but  finds  himself 
slightly  affected  and  troubled  in  the  commission  of  small 
or  hidden  ones,  has  but  little  claim  to  the  grace  of  sanc- 
tification. One  of  the  surest  marks  of  sanctification  is 
an  increased  sensitiveness  to  sin  in  all  its  degrees.  The 
slightest  sin  is  a  source  of  unspeakable  misery  to  the 
sanctified  heart ;  and  gives  the  soul  no  rest,  till  it  is 
washed  out  in  overflowing  tears  of  penitence. 


456  RELIGIOUS  MAXIMS. 

LI. 

In  a  state  of  mere  justification,  it  is  often  and  perhaps 
generally  the  case,  that  it  requires  a  great  mental  effort 
to  turn  our  thoughts  and  affections  from  worldly  objects, 
and  to  fix  them  strongly  and  firmly  upon  God.  In  a 
state  of  sanctification,  it  is  the  reverse  of  this.  To  a 
holy  heart  the  difficult  and  painful  effort  is  to  turn  away 
its  thoughts  and  affections  from  the  supreme  object  of  its 
love  and  to  fix  them,  even  when  duty  authorizes  it,  upon 
objects  of  an  inferior  nature. 

LII. 

Persons  sometimes  miss  of  the  blessing  of  sanctifica- 
tion by  aiming  at  it,  not  being  aware  of  the  artifices  of 
the  adversary,  in  what  may  perhaps  be  called  an  unsanc- 
tified  manner.  We  are  not  to  desire  sanctification,  which 
is  probably  the  case  with  some,  merely  because  it  is  an 
elevated  and  honorable  state  of  soul,  and  in  point  of  rank 
far  above  any  other  mortal  condition,  but  because  it  is 
the  only  true  and  worthy  consummation  of  our  moral 
and  religious  existence,  and  especially  because  it  is  the 
will  of  our  heavenly  Father. 

LIII. 

All  persons,  it  is  probable,  are  willing  to  be  justified, 
because  all  are  willing  to  be  saved.  But  all  are  not 
willing  to  be  sanctified,  because  all  are  not  willing  to 
renounce  the   pleasures  of  the  world. 

LIV. 

A  spirit  of  entire  obedience  is  one  of  the  important 
characteristics  of  a  sanctified  state.  Not  obedience  mere- 
ly, but  entire  obedience.  He,  who  obeys  in  some  things, 
but  is  fretful  and  rebellious  in  others,  has  not  the  reality  ; 
and  it  can  hardly  be  said,  that  he  has  even  the  appear- 
ance of  holiness. 


rel:giol's  maxims.  457 

^^  LV. 

He,  that  is  united  to  God,  loves  solitude.  But  it  is 
solitude  in  the  relative  rather  than  the  absolute  sense. 
True,  he  is  secluded  from  men,  but  while  he  is  shut  out 
from  the  world  he  is  shut  up  in  God  ;  and  in  the  ab- 
sence of  human  society,  has  the  far  better  society  of  the 
Infinite   Mind. 

LVI. 

'•'■'Little  love,  little  trnst,''^  says  Archbishop  Lcighton. 
The  converse  of  this  is  equally  true.  If  there  be  but 
little  trust,  there  will  be  but  little  love.  If  we  believe 
the  words  of  our  heavenly  Father  with  the  whole  heart, 
it  will  be  certain  that  Ave  shall  love  him  with  the  whole 
heart. 

LVII. 

Sanctification  consists  in  love  rather  than  in  knowl- 
edge. Nevertheless,  it  is  a  great  and  delightful  truth, 
that  those,  who  love  much,  shall  know  much.  They 
shall  be  led  to  the  very  blights  of  knowledge.  Love 
shall  bring  light.  The  great  God  himself  will  be  their 
teacher. 

Lvin. 

How  pleasant,  how  delightful  is  a  holy  imagination  ! 
It  instinctively  refuses  and  throws  away  every  thing 
that  can  defile.  It  is  a  sort  of  inner  sanctuary  ;  or  per- 
haps we  may  call  it  the  bridal  chamber  of  the  soul,  fitted 
up  and  adorned  with  every  thing  pure  in  earth  and 
beautiful  in  heaven.  And  God  himself  is  the  bright 
light  thereof.  ^ 

LIX. 

"Ls^  not  yoiir  heart  be  troubled^     And  in  regard  to 

those  who  indulge  the  hope  that  they  are  sanctified  in 

Christ  Jesus,    we  may  well   inquire,   why  should   their 

heart  be   troubled  ;     Have    they   not  a  great  protector  ? 

39 


458  RELIGIOUS  MAXIMS. 

Must  not  the  archers  first  hit  Him,  whom  thy  soul  lov- 
eth,  before  they  can  hit  thee  ?  "What  can  harm  tliee," 
says  archbishop  Leighton,  who  spoke  on  these  things 
from  the  fulness  of  his  own  pious  spirit,  "when  all 
must  first  touch  God,  within  whom  thou  hast  enclosed 
thyself?" 

LX. 

It  is  a  great  art  in  the  Christian  life  to  learn  to  be 
SILENT.  Under  oppositions,  rebukes,  injuries,  still  be 
SILENT.  It  is  better  to  say  nothing,  than  to  say  it  in  an 
excited  or  an  angry  manner,  even  if  the  occasion  should 
seem  to  justify  a  degree  of  anger.  By  remaining  silent, 
the  mind  is  enabled  to  collect  itself,  and  to  call  upon 
God  in  secret  aspirations  of  prayer.  And  thus  you  will 
speak  to  the  honor  of  your  holy  profession,  as  well  as  to 
the  good  of  those  who  have  injured  you,  xohen  you  speak 
from  God. 

LXI. 

It  is  important  to  make  a  distinction  between  sorrow 
and  impatience.  We  may  feel  sorrow  without  sin  ;  but 
Ave  can  never  feel  Impatience  without  sin.  Impatience 
always  involves  a  want  of  submission  ;  and  he,  who  is 
wanting  in  submission,  even  in  the  smallest  degree,  is 
not  perfect  before  God. 

LXII. 

We  may  lay  it  down  as  a  principle  in  the  religious 
life,  that  every  thing  is  wrong,  in  regard  to  which  we 
cannot  ask  the  divine  direction  and  blessing.  Wlien  we 
sin,  Ave  Avish,  like  our  first  parents,  to  hide  ourselves 
from  Him  Avhom  we  haA'^e  offended.  But  it  is  the  na- 
ture of  a  pure  heart,  always  to  seek  God.  Its  language 
is,  in  all  the  occurrences  and  duties  of  life,  "My  Father, 
what  wilt  thou  have  me  to  do  ?" 


^.  KELIGIOl'S  MAXIMS.  459 

^  LXIII. 

A  Christian  is  prospectively  a  citizen  of  heaven  ;  but 
actually,  and  at  the  present  time,  he  is  a  citizen  of  the 
world.  Remember  this,  and  do  not  think  so  much  of 
■\^•hat  is  to  be,  as  to  forget  what  is.  We  have  a  great  work 
in  the  present  life,  and  in  the  precise  situation  where 
God  has  placed  us.  Angels  glorify  God  in  heaven ; 
men  must  glorify  him  on  the  earth. 

LXIV. 

Many  profess  religion ;  many,  we  may  charitably 
hope,  possess  religion  ;  but  feAv,  very  few,  if  we  may 
judge  from  appearances,  are  aiming  with  all  their  pow- 
ers at  perfection  in  religion.  Nevertheless,  it  is  only 
upon  this  last  class,  that  the  Savior  looks  with  unmin- 
gled  approbation.  In  regard  to  all  those  who  aim  at  any 
thing  short  of  bearing  his  full  image,  it  may  be  said  with 
truth,  that  he  is  wounded  in  the  house  of  his  friends. 

LXV. 

If  we  Avould  walk  perfectly  before  God,  we  must  en- 
deavor to  do  common  things,  such  as  are  of  every  day's 
occurrence,  and  of  but  small  account  in  the  eyes  of  the 
world,  in  a  perfect  manner.  Some  persons  are  so  men- 
tally constituted,  that  they  could  more  easily  undergo 
the  sufferings  of  martyrdom,  than  properly  regulate  and 
control  their  feelings  in  their  families  during  twenty-four 
hours.  How  dreadful  is  that  delusion,  which  excuses 
itself  in  its  imperfections,  because  in  the  providence  of 
God,  it  is  not  permitted  to  do  or  to  suffer  some  great 
thing.  Happy  is  he  who  can  do  God's  Avill  in  the  soli- 
tary place,  and  who  can  win  the  crown  without  going  to 
the  stake. 

LXVI. 

It  is  a  most  dangerous  mistake  to  suppose  that  we  can 
compensate,  by   exterior   acts,  however   important   they 


460  EELIGIOUS  MAXIMS. 

may  be,  for  a  want  of  interior  devotion.  Men  may  even 
minister  at  the  altar,  with  all  the  outward  eloquence  of 
a  Massillon,  and  yet  Avith  hearts  full  of  unbelief.  A 
want  of  a  right  or  perfect  state  of  the  outward  action  may 
expose  us  to  the  condemnation  of  men  ;  but  an  imper- 
fection of  the  inward  or  spiritual  action  exposes  us  to 
the  condemnation  of  God.  If  we  can  please  both  God 
and  men,  it  is  well ;  but  above  all  things,  let  us  not  fail 
to  please  God,  Avho,  in  opposition  to  the  course  which 
men  usually  take,  regards  the  inward  principle  much 
more  than  the  mere  outward  development  of  it. 

LXVII. 

If  we  fail  on  suitable  occasions  to  declare  what  God 
has  done  for  our  souls,  we  shall  be  likely  to  offend  our 
heavenly  Father.  But  on  the  other  hand,  if  we  make 
such  declarations,  Satan  will  be  likely  to  be  present 
and  tempt  us  to  spiritual  pride.  Happy  is  the  man,  who 
can  relate  and  extol  God's  gracious  dealings  with  him, 
with  such  meekness  and  humility,  as  to  furnish  no  en- 
trance to  evil, 

LXVIII. 

It  will  help  us  to  ascertain  whether  we  are  truly  hum- 
ble, if  we  inquire  whether  we  are  free  from  the  opposites 
of  humility.  The  opposites  of  a  humble  state  of  mind, 
(or  at  least  those  things  which  sustain  a  divergent  and 
antagonist  relation,)  are  impatience,  uneasiness,  a  feel- 
ing that  something  and  perhaps  much  depends  on  our- 
selves, undue  sensitiveness  to  the  praise  and  reproofs  of 
men,  and  sensoriousness.  No  man  should  account  him- 
self truly  humbled,  who  is  the  subject  of  these  unhappy 
states  of  mind. 

LXIX. 

It  is  a  great  practical  principle  in  the  religious  life, 
that  a  state  of  suffering  furnishes  the  test  of  love.     WTien 


RELIGIOUS  MAX13IS;.  46 1 

God  is  pleased  to  bestow  his  favors  upon  us,  when  his 
blessings  are  repeated  every  hour,  how  can  we  tell 
whether  we  love  him  for  what  he  is,  or  for  what  he  givesl 
But  when  in  seasons  of  deep  and  varied  afflictions,  our 
heart  still  clings  to  him  as  our  only  hope  and  only  joy^ 
we  maj^  well  say,  "Thou  knowest  all  things.  Thou 
knojivest  that  I  love  thee." 

.,i«'"  *  LXX. 

^  In  believing  in  the  possibility  of  present  sanctification, 
and  in  combining  with  this  belief  the  determination  to 
attain  to  it,  we  realize  in  ourselves  the  possession  of  that 
shield  of  faith  mentioned  in  the  Scriptures,  by  means  of 
which  we  are  enabled  to  quench  the  fiery  darts  of  the 
adversary.  On  the  contrary,  in  rejecting  this  belief,  and 
in  acting  in  accordance  Avith  this  rejection,  we  throw 
away  our  shield  ;  and  it  is  no  more  than  reasonable  to 
expect  that  we  shall  be  pierced  through  and  through  with 
the  enemy's  weapons. 

LXXI. 

As  a  general  thing,  it  may  be  expected  that  all  Chris- 
tians will  find  themselves  able  to  bear  the  great  crosses 
of  life,  because  they  come  with  observation  ;  they  attract 
notice  by  their  very  magnitude  ;  and,  by  putting  the 
soul  on  its  guard,  give  it  strength  to  meet  them.  But 
happy,  thrice  happy  is  he,  who  can  bear  the  little 
CROSSES,  which  ever  lie  in  wait,  and  which  attack  us  se- 
cretly and  without  giving  warning,  like  a  thief  in  the 
night. 

LXXII. 

We  are  told  in  the  Scriptures  that  all  things  are  the 
Christian's.  Heaven,  Christ,  God,  things  present  and 
things  to  come,  all  are  his.  But  the  possession  in  the 
present  life  is  of  a  two-fold  nature — sometimes  by  present 
enjoj^ment  and  sometimes  by  faith.     More  commonly. 


462  RELIGIOUS  MAXIMS. 

and  undoubtedly  for  wise  reasons,  the  possession  is  by- 
faith.  But  in  the  view  of  Him,  whose  life  is  hid  with 
Christ,  the  possession  is  not  on  that  account  any  the  less 
sure. 

LXXIII. 

In  endeavoring  to  estimate  the  genuineness  of  our  re- 
ligious experiences,  Ave  should  ever  keep  in  mind  that 
all  those  experiences,  which  are  wrought  by  the  Spirit 
of  God,  and  are  genuine  in  their  character,  tend  decided- 
ly and  uniformly  to  personal  humility.  "  Blessed  are 
the  poor  in  spirit  for  theirs  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven." 
How  can  it  be  otherwise?  The  tendency  of  all  true  religion 
is  to  make  God  every  thing,  and  ourselves  comparatively 
nothing ;  to  sink  the  creature  while  it  elevates  and  en- 
thrones the  Creator  in  the  centre  of  the  heart.  "God  re- 
sisteth  the  proud,  but  giveth  grace  unto  the  humble." 

LXXIV. 

'  The  height  and  sum  of  religion  is  to  bear  the  image 
of  Christ.  But  can  those  flatter  themselves  that  they 
bear  the  Savior's  "image,  who  are  overcome  and  are 
rendered  impatient  by  every  trifling  incident  of  an  ad- 
verse nature  ?  Oh,  remember  that  the  life  of  Christ  Avas 
from  beginning  to  end  a  life  of  trouble.  He  was  often 
misunderstood  and  ill  treated  by  all  classes  ;  he  was  per- 
secuted by  the  Pharisees  ;  sold  by  the  traitor  Avhom  he 
had  chosen  as  one  of  his  disciples  ;  reviled  by  the  thief 
on  the  cross  ;  put  to  death.  But  he  was  far  more  desir- 
ous of  the  salvation  and  good  of  his  enemies,  than  he 
was  of  personal  exemption  from  their  persecutions. 
"Father,  forgive  them  ;  for  they  know  not  what  they  do." 

LXXV. 

There  are  various  views  of  Christian  perfection,  Avhich, 
on  being  analyzed,  amount  to  the  same  thing ;  and  when 
properly  understood,  may  be  regarded  as  all  equally  cor- 


RELIGIOUS  MAXl.MS.  463 

rect.  The  author  of  the  Imitation  of  Christ,  says  it  con- 
sists in  man's  offering  up  himself  "with  his  whole  heart 
to  the  will  of  God ;  never  seeking  his  own  will  either 
in  small  or  great  respects,  either  in  time  or  eternity  ; 
but  with  an  equal  mind  weighing  all  things  in  the  bal- 
ance of  the  sanctuary  ;  and  receiving  both  prosperity 
and  adversity  loith  continual  thanks giviiig" 

LXXVI. 

Men  bestow  honor  one  upon  another.  Sometimes  they 
build  up,  sometimes  they  pull  doAvn.  But  human  opin- 
ions cannot  alter  the  reality  of  things,  by  making  it  great- 
er or  less  than  it  is.     Every  man  is  truly  such  and  such 

only,  AS  HE  IS  IN  THE  SIGHT  OF  GOD. 
LXXVII. 

Some  persons  seem  to  be  able  to  trust  God  in  every 
thing,  excepting  in  one  particular,  viz.  those  cases,  Avhere 
they  think  themselves  called  upon  to  resent  and  punish 
the  injuries  they  may  have  received.  But  what  is  the 
language  of  Scripture?  "Dearly  beloved,  avenge  not 
yourselves.  Vengeance  is  mine,  saith  the  Lord."  It 
is  said  of  Christ  himself,  Matt.   xii.    19,   "he   shall  not 

STRIVE." 

LXXVIII. 

When  I  witness  the  erroneous  estimate,  which  men 
often  place  on  certain  kinds  of  human  knowledge,  I  am 
reminded  of  one  of  the  remarkable  sayings,  which  abound 
in  the  practical  WTitings  of  St.  Augustine.  "Unhappy 
is  he,  who  knows  every  thing  else,  and  does  not  know- 
God.  Happy  is  he  who  knows  God  though  he  should  be 
ignorant  of  every  thing  else." 

LXXIX. 

There  are  two  classes  of  Christians ;  those  who  live 
chiefly  by  emotion,  and  those  who  live  chiefly  by  faith. 
The  first  class,  those  who  live  chiefly  by  emotion,  re- 


464  RELIGIOUS  MAXIMS. 

mind  one  of  ships,  that  move  by  the  outward  impulse  of 
winds  operating  upon  sails.  They  are  often  at  a  dead 
calm,  often  out  of  their  course,  and  sometimes  driven  back. 
And  it  is  only  when  the  winds  are  fair  and  powerful  that 
they  move  onward  with  rapidity.  The  other  class,  those 
who  live  chiefly  by  faith,  remind  one  of  the  magnificent 
steamers  which  cross  the  Atlantic,  which  are  moved  by 
an  interior  and  permanent  principle  ,  and  which  setting 
at  defiance  all  ordinary  obstacles,  advance  steadily  and 
swiftly  to  their  destination,  through  calm  and  storm, 
through  cloud  and  sunshine. 

LXXX. 

There  are  some  heathen  philosophers,  such  as  Socra- 
tes, Cicero,  and  Seneca,  that  occasionally  announce  mor- 
al and  religious  truths  of  great  value.  Truths,  which 
are  susceptible  of  an  interpretation  that  will  bring  them 
into  close  harmony  with  the  practical  doctrines  of  Chris- 
tianity. "The  fewer  things  a  man  wants,"  said  Socrates 
on  a  certain  occasion,  "the  nearer  he  is  to  God." 

LXXXI. 

A  parent,  who  loves  an  obedient  and  affectionate  child, 
will  sometimes  give  him  a  picture  book,  a  musical  instru- 
ment, or  some  other  thing,  as  a  token  of  his  confidence 
and  love.  But  if  the  parent  should  find  the  child  so 
much  taken  up  with  the  picture  book  as  to  forget  the  pa- 
rental commands,  and  to  be  getting  into  Avays  of  disobe- 
dience, he  will  take  it  away.  And  thus  God  sometimes 
imparts  especial  spiritual  consolations  to  his  children  ; 
but  if  he  finds  them,  as  he  sometimes  does,  more  taken 
up  with  the  joys  he  gives  than  they  are  with  himself 
and  his  commands,  he  will  remove  them.  And  he  does 
it  in  great  mercy.  It  is  certainly  better  to  lose  the  gift, 
than  to  be  deprived  of  the  Giver ;  to  lose  our  consola- 
tions, than  to  lose  our  God. 


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